


Right Together

by Orithain, Rina9294



Series: Sentinels 101 [5]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, M/M, Multi, Sentinel/Guide Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 02:29:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9695717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orithain/pseuds/Orithain, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina9294/pseuds/Rina9294
Summary: More adventures of our sentinels in Atlantis, set during season 3.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, we basically wrote this years ago, but we'd never finished it. With nearly 40,000 words written, we've dusted it off, polished it off, and here it is.

“Dr. Weir, the _Daedalus_ has arrived; they’re landing now,” Chuck announced over the city-wide radio.

“Oh joy, more new personnel,” Rodney groaned, looking up from his work and over at Radek, who was across from him. “Guess that means you won’t be seeing much of Elizabeth either.”

“It’s not all _new_ personnel,” Elizabeth corrected as she came into the control room. “Sgt. Bates is returning on this trip.”

“Bates?” Rodney asked, staring at her. “Has anyone told Teyla yet?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I think John decided to avoid that as long as possible.” She looked around. “And now I think he’s hiding,” she added with an undertone of amusement.

“I am not,” John said as he arrived, but he did look around quickly to see if Teyla was nearby.

“You should be if you did not tell her ahead of time,” Radek commented, and Rodney nodded.

“Then she could have worked out with Ronon, maybe gotten rid of a little of the steam.”

“Yeah, well, it would also have given her more time to stew about it,” John retorted. “Hey, Rodney, wanna explore the south tower?”

“Sit. Stay,” Elizabeth ordered dryly.

“I’ll give you a cookie later,” Rodney promised, and Radek snickered.

“I’d rather have a bone,” John retorted.

“John!” Elizabeth gasped, though she was smiling.

“Later, Colonel,” Rodney said dryly.

“And not here!” Radek added.

“None of you ever let me have any fun.”

Rodney snorted out a laugh at that, and Radek eyed John closely. “I am wondering if you have been out in the sun too long.”

John laughed. “I had a feeling that wasn’t going to fly.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Elizabeth said dryly. “Now perhaps we could act like grownups and go welcome our new personnel?”

“Are they here yet?” Carson huffed as he ran into the control room, still trying to smooth his hair.

Rodney snickered. “Urmm, Carson...” He gestured at his neck.

“Oh bloody hell!” The doctor felt his neck and the patch of heated skin and tried to pull his collar up to cover it.

“Well, the new arrivals won’t be worried about the command staff being too standoffish,” John snickered.

“Oh, like we haven’t seen the both of you with the like!” Carson muttered, and Rodney grinned.

“And do I try to hide it?”

John was regarding Carson, his head tilted slightly. “Looks like Ronon was trying to match his tattoo,” he observed. “It’s in the same place.”

“Verra funny, Colonel,” Carson huffed, turning an even darker red.

“I’m just sayin’.”

“Pier. Now,” Elizabeth interrupted, well aware that this could go on for hours if she allowed it.

“Behave, John,” Rodney chuckled, smacking his ass as they followed Elizabeth, and Radek sighed.

“You do the same!”

“We never jump each other in front of the newcomers,” John assured him. “They might run away while the _Daedalus_ is still here,” he ended with a laugh.

“Which proves they are smart enough ta be here,” Carson sighed as they headed out to the pier where the _Daedalus_ had landed and was lowering a ramp to the deck.

“Let’s not put it to the test just yet,” Elizabeth instructed. “I’d prefer that they not all leave again before they even unpack.”

“We’ll be good,” John promised.

“Yes, we don’t want to scare off the new bodies,” Rodney nodded. “We might need them.”

“I do not think you will be scaring Sgt. Bates so easily,” Radek observed.

“Teyla might,” John muttered.

“This is Bates,” Rodney reminded him as the first group walked down the ramp, led by Col. Caldwell.

John shrugged. “It’ll work out. It always does.” He moved forward, he and Rodney flanking Elizabeth, with Carson, Radek, and Lorne, who’d just joined them, slightly behind.

“Dr. Weir,” Caldwell said, before nodding at her command staff.

“Colonel.” Elizabeth smiled at the new arrivals once Caldwell stepped aside. “Welcome to Atlantis.” She introduced herself and the command staff.

One man stepped forward and saluted John. “Dr. Weir, Colonel, it’s good to be back.” As he spoke, Carson walked over to a young, strawberry blond woman.

“Dr. Keller? Welcome ta Atlantis.”

“Welcome home, Sgt. Bates,” John said while Elizabeth smiled.

“It’s good to have you back,” she added.

“It’s good to be back,” Bates grinned, looking momentarily younger.

Behind them, the young doctor offered her hand to Carson. “Dr. Beckett? It’s an honor to meet you.”

“We’re glad ta have you,” Carson said, smiling broadly. “And call me Carson, please; I’m looking forward ta having you on my staff.”

The two doctors wandered off to the infirmary, and the remaining new arrivals dispersed, making their way toward their quarters or the labs, depending on personal preference.

John gestured to Bates to walk with him and Rodney after Elizabeth made her farewells and headed back to her office. “We kept your room for you,” he told the sergeant.

“Thank you, sir,” Bates nodded before smiling again. “And belated congratulations to you both.”

“Yes, well thank you,” Rodney nodded at him.

“So I assume you don’t have a problem with your CO being a guide,” John said easily.

“Why would that be?” Bates asked, confused.

“Just checking. Some people were a little weird with it since it came out so late.” John shrugged. “It works for me though.”

“Us. It works for us!” Rodney said sharply, and Bates swallowed a chuckle.

“You haven’t changed, Dr. McKay.”

“Well, I would think not, except...” Rodney looked up and spotted Teyla ahead of them in the hallway.

“Um.” John looked around, hoping for an escape to materialize.

“Something wrong, sir?” Bates asked before following Rodney’s gaze and frowning.

Rodney glared at John before trying to smile brightly. “Teyla! Look who’s back.”

“Sgt. Bates,” she said coolly. “I am pleased to see that you have recovered from your injury.”

“Ms. Emmagan. Nice to see you’re still alive,” Bates replied in a clipped tone that had John edging away with a wary glance at Teyla and Rodney shifting closer to him.

“Yes, I am thankful for that fact also,” she replied, her dark eyes flicking toward John and holding his gaze for a moment, making him wince.

“We’re all glad of it too,” he offered, hoping to ameliorate the punishment he was sure he was going to get at his next sparring session with her.

“Yes, we’re all alive, and did you hear – Carson has a sentinel too now,” Rodney said quickly.

“Yes, I heard he’s another Pegasus native,” Bates replied. He cast a sidelong glance at Teyla. “Seems like we’ve been pretty lucky in our allies here.” It was as close to an apology as he was ever likely to make.

Teyla watched him through narrowed eyes before slowly nodding, turning, and walking away, causing Rodney to let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Guess she’s still pretty pissed,” Bates observed.

“Yeah, well, calling someone a Wraith-worshipper is pretty serious in this galaxy,” John said. “I’ve seen people kill each other over it.”

“Word of warning,” Rodney offered. “Don’t even think those words around Ronon.”

John shuddered. “Words to live by,” he agreed. “He was a runner for seven years. The Wraith destroyed his world and made his life a living hell. Fortunately, Beckett has mostly tamed the savage beast.”

“Sounds dangerous,” Bates said with a frown, and John chuckled briefly.

“Only to our enemies.”

“If you want a workout, schedule one with him,” Rodney suggested.

Bates eyed him with amusement. “Why do I think you’re setting me up?”

“Because you’re not new to Atlantis and interpreting Rodney McKay,” John chuckled.

“And what do you mean by that?” Rodney asked.

“I’m sure I can find my way from here, sirs,” Bates said hastily, making John chuckle again.

“I’ll expect you in my office in the morning,” he said, sliding an arm around Rodney’s waist to steer him away.

“Yes sir.” Bates took the offered escape and vanished into a transporter.

“This is going to be interesting,” Rodney remarked, watching him leave. “I hope Teyla doesn’t beat him into a pulp – or you for that matter.”

“Me too,” John replied fervently. “But he belongs here, and I think Teyla will agree with that... eventually.”

“We hope! I know Stackhouse and Markham will be glad to see him at least,” Rodney mused.

“A lot of people will be. I think Stackhouse is planning a welcome home party for him tonight. Lorne said something to me about it. Apparently, Stackhouse thought he had to tell Lorne to make sure I didn’t forget or get distracted.”

“Are they telling you so you can go or so that you can stay away?”

“So that I go. They don’t seem to think I can be trusted to get there on my own.”

It was a credit to Rodney’s control that he managed to keep from snickering.

John gave him a narrow-eyed stare, and Rodney widened his eyes in innocence. “What?” he asked before dissolving into snickers.

“I don’t forget things, and when I do, it’s your fault for distracting me!”

“Are you sure they just weren’t worried that you couldn’t find your way there?” Rodney asked.

John scowled. “I don’t get lost!”

“You always manage to find your way home to me,” Rodney assured him, making John laugh helplessly and hug him.

“Why do I suddenly feel like Lassie?”

“Are you going to bark at me if Timmy falls down the well?”

John snorted. “I have better reasons to bark at you.”

“I thought that was bite.”

“Only when you ask me to.”

Rodney shivered slightly in sensual memory, and his eyes grew unfocused, making John pull him closer.

“We need to get somewhere private,” John said, his voice suddenly throaty.

“We can’t,” Rodney groaned, “new staff – massive problems if they touch the wrong thing, remember? We don’t need the city submerging without the shield.”

“Damnit,” John growled. “Fine, but don’t think you’re going to be late in the lab tonight. I have plans that involve us and the balcony.”

“Oh really?” Rodney asked, his eyebrows arching. “Well then, I’ll harangue them quickly.”

“Good grasp of priorities,” John praised, and Rodney shrugged.

“You smell hot.”

“And you look hot, so we’re even.”

“Oh, go and review your new troops—and remind them who does the real work here,” Rodney laughed, pulling John in for a quick kiss.

“Which would be you, right?” John grinned.

“Do I even need to answer that?”

John laughed. “Go cow your new minions while I put the fear of scientists into mine. I’ll meet you back in our room in time to go to the party.”

“Just in time?”

“It’s possible I might allow some additional time for pre-party festivities,” John admitted with a grin.

“Possible?” Rodney asked, before laughingly shooing John away. “Go, knock some sense into their heads while I terrorize the babies.”

“Try not to make any of them cry today. It makes the Marines nervous.”

~*~*~

“Well, I finished up early,” John said into his radio on a private channel to Rodney, “but I’m all alone in our room. Well, okay, Mole’s here too, but he’s not really my type.”

“What’d you do to them?” Rodney asked suspiciously.

John laughed. “Don’t worry; I didn’t kill all the new Marines and stuff their bodies in an oubliette just so I could do unspeakably lewd things to you.”

“You didn’t?” Rodney’s voice held a pout. “What kind of husband are you?”

“The kind who won’t be dragged away for murder,” John chuckled. “But I did send them on a training mission to the mainland to get acquainted with our Athosian allies for a couple of hours, so there won’t be any interruptions... assuming my husband was here with me for there to be anything to interrupt!”

“Are you trying to beat me out in the mean head honcho department?” Rodney asked suspiciously.

“No, I’m trying to arrange an assignation with my husband, but he’s not cooperating! Convincing Lorne to take the newbies to the settlement was easier,” John groused.

“I’m on my way!” Rodney protested. “I can’t just fly there, you know!”

“Why not?” John asked, now sounding amused.

The door to their room whooshed open, and Rodney leaned against the jamb, looking fondly exasperated. “Because even though I’m the most brilliant man in two galaxies and a sentinel, I can’t sprout wings.”

“Well damn, you and flying at the same time would be my idea of heaven.”

“You are so strange. Now, how long do we have before Bates’ party?”

John grinned. “Long enough.”

~*~*~

“There’s something very odd about this place,” John muttered to Rodney, watching pretty much every inhabitant of the village fawn over the leader, a singularly unprepossessing specimen as far as John was concerned, Lucius.

“He’s sort of creepy, but everyone seems happy enough,” Rodney mused, watching Carson talk to the other man.

“The people on this planet have very strange taste.” John watched as Ronon moved closer, hovering possessively close to his guide.

“Not arguing that,” Rodney mused as Carson walked back to them, rubbing a hand over Ronon’s back.

“Lucius has some medicinal herbs he’d like ta show me,” the physician announced dubiously.

“Is anything he offers likely to be worthwhile?” John asked. Lucius seemed to be a blowhard who was unaccountably beloved by his fellow villagers.

“I’n nae sure, but I dinna want ta pass up an opportunity,” Carson admitted, and Rodney sighed.

“So do we have to stay here while you talk to him?” he asked.

“They’ll probably want to feed us,” John reminded him.

“They can feed Carson and Ronon.” Rodney looked at him critically. “You’re sick; we need to get back home.”

“It’s just a cold. I’m fine.” John shrugged.

“You’re sick,” Rodney repeated stubbornly. “You need to be in bed, not traipsing around out here picking up who knows what!”

“And once we’re done here, we can go back to Atlantis, and you can play doctor to your heart’s content,” John assured him.

“Which would be now!”

“John,” Carson laughed, “go on and go back. We’ll be fine.”

After a moment, John shrugged. “Okay. We’ll let Elizabeth know you’re staying to check out the local herbs. Teyla, you staying or coming with?”

“I believe I will return with you,” she said with a smile. “I think Carson and Ronon have things well in hand.”

~*~*~

“Does Carson really think they may have anything of use to us?” Elizabeth back, stepping back when John sneezed explosively.

“I guess we’ll find out when they get back,” Rodney commented as he frowned at John. “And if you’ll excuse us, I need to get the colonel to bed.”

“I really wish you meant that in a way we shouldn’t be discussing in front of Elizabeth,” John muttered, and Elizabeth smothered a laugh.

“Go. I’ll let you know if Carson finds anything worthwhile.”

“Like a cure for whatever he has!” Rodney sniffed, practically dragging John out of Elizabeth’s office.

“It’s a _cold_ , Rodney,” John protested, following along because he knew it would be futile to attempt anything else.

“How do you know? Are you a doctor?” Rodney demanded as they headed toward their room. “You shouldn’t have gone on that mission.”

John rolled his eyes. “I’ve had colds before, Rodney; I know what they feel like. And Carson _is_ a doctor, and _he_ said it’s just a cold too.”

Rodney glowered at him at that. “You’re supposed to listen to me!”

John raised his hands in surrender. “I’m listening to you, oh sentinel mine.”

“Smartest thing you’ve said all day,” Rodney nodded as he hustled John out of the gate room and toward the transporter.

“Funny how that’s always something that agrees with you,” John shot back wryly.

“Can I help it if it’s the truth?”

“Such modesty,” John laughed, letting himself lean against Rodney when they stepped inside the transporter.

“Would I be me if I was?” Rodney queried, hitting the pad and ending them nearer to their room, frowning slightly at the slight increase he could feel in John’s temperature.

“I guess not,” John said, smiling faintly. He hated to admit it, but he really did feel like crap, and an hour or two in bed was sounding pretty good to him just about then.

“A very good answer,” Rodney nodded escorting John to their room, taking his guide’s pack and setting it down, then beginning to strip him. “And before you make a lewd comment, we are not going to get kinky—got it?”

“I don’t have the energy to be kinky,” John admitted, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“If I didn’t already know you were sick, that would have told me!” Rodney exclaimed, managing to get John stripped to his boxers and t-shirt, then bundled under the covers. “Stay right there, I’ll get you some aspirin.”

Half-laughing, John decided it wasn’t worth the effort of fighting and simply lay back and let Rodney hover. And though he’d never admit it, he kind of liked it, at least for a while.

“Come lie down with me,” he urged, catching hold of Rodney’s hand.

“ _After_ I get you that aspirin,” Rodney argued, gently disengaging from John’s hand and hurrying into the bathroom to get John a glass of water and the pill. “Of all the times for Carson to decide to stay on a world...”

“I think I can survive a cold without medical attention,” John said dryly.

“Oh, shush and let me fuss over you,” Rodney muttered, carrying the medicine back to the bed.

“I could get into that,” John decided, lying back and letting Rodney do whatever he wanted.

“You could get into getting some rest,” Rodney sniffed, “But I’ll stay here with you.

John smiled, the sweet smile that was reserved for Rodney alone, and settled against his sentinel once Rodney lay down beside him. “You should rest too,” he mumbled, already half asleep.

“I’m not sick,” Rodney pointed out, keeping his voice low as John was relaxing into sleep. “But I’ll stay here to make sure you do.”

~*~*~

“So, is Carson back yet?” John asked when he awoke a couple of hours later, his head pillowed on Rodney’s thigh as the scientist worked on his laptop.

“Not yet.” Rodney glanced at the time on his laptop. “He and Ronon should be back soon—why? Do you need him?”

John chuckled. “No, I don’t need a doctor for my cold. I was just wondering if they’d escaped from Mr. Perfect yet.”

“Hopefully for their sake. Are you feeling any better? You aren’t as warm.” As Rodney spoke, he rested his hand against John’s forehead.

“I told you, it’s just a cold. It makes you feel miserable, but that’s about it. I’ve slept off a lot of it.” John immediately sneezed, belying his statement, and Rodney made a face.

“That was really disgusting,” he commented, handing John a box of tissues.

“I _sneezed_ , Rodney,” John said rather indignantly. “It’s not like I puked on you or something.”

“Good thing or I would have puked back!”

“So much for your new vocation as Florence Nightingale,” John laughed.

“You’re feeling better; I don’t have to continue it,” Rodney chuckled, stroking a hand over John’s messy hair.

“What, I don’t even get chicken soup out of this?”

“What happened to saying you were fine?” Rodney grinned.

“I feel a relapse coming on.”

Rodney only eyed him and snorted out his derision.

“Not buying it, huh?” John chuckled. “Well, damn. And I can’t even steal a kiss, or you’ll catch this, and then we’d both be miserable.”

Rodney made a face, but he didn’t deny that he was a miserable patient. He started to say something when his radio sounded. “Rodney, is John feeling better? I need the two of you in the control room.”

John answered for himself. “I’m fine, Elizabeth. What’s wrong?”

“Carson and Ronon brought a guest back with them.”

“They did _what_?!” John was instantly on his feet and heading for the door, barely pausing to yank on a fresh uniform and his boots, Rodney at his heels as they hurried toward the control room to find Carson and Ronon standing with Lucius, both of them smiling and fawning all over him.

“What the hell?” Rodney sputtered.

“Ronon, are you feeling all right?” John demanded, staring, and Ronon frowned at him.

“Shh, Lucius is telling us a story.”

“You’re kidding!” Rodney glanced over at John. “He’s kidding, right?”

“Rodney, hush!” Carson ordered.

“I don’t think he’s kidding,” John said, looking and sounding shocked, while Elizabeth nodded grimly. “What the hell?”

Elizabeth tilted her head at Carson and shrugged.

John took the situation in hand, and shortly thereafter, Lucius found himself in the isolation room, accompanied by Ronon, while John, Elizabeth, Rodney, and Carson watched.

“I can’t believe you brought him here without permission,” Elizabeth said to Carson, still unable to get past that, and John’s expression showed his clear agreement.

“Lucius has some wonderful ideas about the use of medicinal plants,” Carson assured her.

“Does he give them to people to smoke?” Rodney muttered under his breath.

“At least that would be an explanation,” John shot back, watching Carson warily.

Rodney took a cautious sniff. “They don’t _smell_ like they’ve been smoking anything...”

“Great, so they’re just nuts.”

“We are not nuts,” Carson huffed. “Perhaps all of you should try to get to know Lucius before making decisions.”

John stared at him. “Was there something in the water?”

“Like psychedelic drugs?” Rodney hissed.

“Exactly!” John said, unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing.

Elizabeth sighed and pursed her lips together. “Why don’t we go discuss this in my office, Carson.”

John turned a bemused look on Rodney. “Are they mad at us for not worshipping this nut job?”

Elizabeth allowed Carson and Ronon to draw Lucius aside and said in a low voice. “I’ll deal with this, John, I want you to go back to his planet and talk to the people there.”

“What about me?” Rodney demanded.

“You stay here and try to figure out what the hell’s going on and how to undo it,” John told him. “And stay away from Lucius!”

“I’m not going anywhere near him!” Rodney shuddered. “I’m going to lock myself in the lab until you come back, and maybe by then things will go back to normal—at this rate, you may come back to find me zoned out to escape from the insanity!”

“Hey, no zoning,” John exclaimed, though he was in sympathy with the sentiment. “I expect you right here to welcome me home when I get back. Try developing a new pesticide while I’m gone,” he added in a mutter.

“You try not to become the inhabitant’s new fixation.” Rodney pulled John in for a kiss and inhaled deeply, grounding himself in his guide’s scent. “And take some cold medicine too!”

“Yes, Mom.” John silenced the sputtering with another kiss. “Keep the home fires burning; I won’t be long.”

“You better not be,” Rodney grumbled, finally letting him go.

~*~*~

After a very illuminating conversation with one of Lucius’ wives, John returned to Atlantis and headed to Rodney’s lab to find him, only to find it empty.

“No. No fucking way!” He headed back toward the lounge where Lucius had been holding court earlier, only to slow as he got closer and could hear Rodney’s voice.

“I’m going to fucking kill him.”

He wasn’t even to the doors to the mess when Rodney’s voice sounded over the others. “John!” The sound was followed by the man himself who hugged him, grinning loopily. “Are you feeling better?”

“Actually, I think I may have overestimated,” John replied after a second. “I’m feeling really exhausted.”

Rodney frowned and reached out a hand to touch John’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm... Let’s get you something to eat and you can lean on me while we listen to Lucius.”

John bit a growl and pulled back from Rodney. “You go ahead,” he bit out. “I’m tired and going back to our room.”

Rodney’s expression crumpled and he looked forlorn. “You don’t want to sit with me?”

John gave him a dirty look. “Damn right I’d like you to sit with me, but since you seem to prefer to sit with Lucius, I’m not going to drag you. _I_ am going back to my room where I can take something for this cold and get some rest.”

“But I stayed in the lab,” Rodney protested, “I really did!”

John looked around. “Funny, this doesn’t look like the lab. And it’s definitely not our room where I’m going now.” He stomped toward the door.

Rodney looked back toward the mess, clearly torn, then hustled after John. “I didn’t! Ronon dragged me out and held me against the wall so that Lucius could talk to me, then I found out what a great guy he was.”

“Maybe he’d make a better guide then!” John snapped, part of him knowing that he was being unreasonable, but he was still hurt by Rodney’s infatuation with the interloper.

Rodney’s hurt quickly morphed to defensive anger, and he glared at John. “I don’t want him for my guide, I want my guide for my guide! Do I tell you who you can have as your friend? No!”

“And it doesn’t strike you as the slightest bit strange that you couldn’t stand him a few hours ago and now he’s your new best friend? To the point that you actually had to think about whether to stay with him or come with me when I’m _sick_!” By now John’s hurt was audible in his voice, at least to anyone who knew him.

Rodney bulled closer, and, as John’s scent washed over him, his eyes lost some of their dreamy look. “I want to go with you; I always want to go with you.”

John turned to stare searchingly into the blue eyes, and after a moment, he slowly nodded, sliding an arm around Rodney’s waist and leaning into him. “And I want a nap.” Hopefully that would give whatever this was a chance to wear off and get Rodney back to normal.

Rodney sighed and rested his head against John’s, but the peaceful moment was shattered by a loud voice calling from the doorway.

“Colonel Sheppard, you’re back!” Lucius boomed, coming over to clap both John and Rodney on the shoulders. “I know Rodney has been missing you; why don’t you join us? No need to be standing in the halls.”

John gritted his teeth and kept a firm grip on Rodney. “Thanks, but we’re heading back to our room; this cold’s really taking it out of me.”

“But we’ve been waiting for you; Rodney, tell him,” Lucius cajoled, and Rodney swallowed, torn between the two men and what they wanted.

“I’m flattered, but right now I need to get some sleep,” John gritted out. “Otherwise the only place I’ll be going is the infirmary.” He leaned a little harder on Rodney.

“We should—he needs to rest,” Rodney said apologetically.

“I’m really tired,” John mumbled, his eyes half closed to veil his focus on Lucius.

“After he rests, we’ll come back,” Rodney promised.

John barely held back a snort. “I really need to get to bed, Rodney.” He nudged Rodney toward the transporter.

“Rodney,” Lucius called, a frown in his voice, but Rodney barely paused, now concentrating on getting John to bed.

“We’ll be back after John rests,” he said firmly.

John managed not to give Lucius a victorious smirk, but it was a near thing. He only relaxed when the transporter door shut behind them, but even then, he wasn’t going to let his guard down until they were safely in their quarters with the door locked behind them by John himself. No one was getting through that door.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “but I’m just so tired.”

“I knew you shouldn’t have gone back to that planet,” Rodney muttered, resting the back of his palm on John’s forehead again then starting to strip off his clothes. “You aren’t warm, but if you’re that tired, something’s wrong.” He paused and frowned mightily. “Did they molest you?”

John gawked at him. “My honor is intact,” he replied dryly after a moment. “Hell, the person who’s gotten closest to me lately is Lucius.”

“You know what I mean!” Rodney sputtered. “And Lucius had better not get near you that way!”

Hiding another smirk, John walked to the bed to sit down and untie his boots. “He seemed awfully anxious for me to stay,” he mused, knowing perfectly well that jealousy was always the way to set Rodney off.

“He has Elizabeth and Teyla fawning over him; he doesn’t need you too!”

John looked up with a frown. “Speaking of Teyla, where is she? I didn’t see her—or Carson or Ronon, come to think of it—in the lounge.”

Rodney shrugged slightly as he sat on the bed next to John, rubbing a hand over his back. “They went off to get something Lucius needed.”

“What could he possibly need that’s not available here,” John snorted before pulling his shirt over his head.

“Some herb from M6H-491,” Rodney shrugged, waiting until John had his shirt off before urging him to lie down.

John suddenly sat bolt upright again. “Isn’t that the planet that’s been overrun by Wraith?” he exclaimed.

“Well, yes, but they wanted to go,” Rodney mused, frowning slightly.

“Ronon, Teyla and _Carson_ went to a Wraith-infested planet, and that’s all you have to say about it?” John exploded. “They’re going to be killed!”

Rodney blinked at that. “No, they aren’t; they can’t be.”

“The three of them—hell, the _two_ of them protecting Carson and against a whole planet full of Wraith... what do you think is going to happen!?”

“I—I don’t know.” Rodney’s expression fell and he looked at his lap. “They’re supposed to be back soon.”

“God!” John raked a hand through his hair and got up to pace around the room. “This is insane!”

“Maybe we should talk to Lucius; he could explain to you why them going there was so important...”

“Oh, I already know!” John snapped. “It was so he could get more of his fucking date-rape herb!”

“Date-rape herb? What are you talking about?”

“I had a fascinating conversation with one of his wives. It seems she couldn’t stand him, along with most of the people of the village, until he bought this herb and then suddenly everybody loved him.”

“I just, he wouldn’t...” Rodney stammered.

“And you don’t find it at all unusual how quickly he became your new best friend?”

“I...m not sure.”

“And that alone should tell you something’s wrong. When are you ever unsure?”

Rodney frowned at that, plainly thinking over the question, and John waited silently, afraid to say anything for fear of tipping Rodney the wrong way.

“I’m never unsure about anything,” Rodney finally muttered.

“No, you aren’t,” John agreed, feeling a little bit of the tension leave him.

“And I wanted to listen to him over you!” Now Rodney’s voice took on a hint of anger, and he lurched to his feet to pace around the room. “Over you! My guide. My _husband_! I’m going to kill him!”

John beamed. “Now that’s the Rodney I know and love.”

Rodney spun and hugged him tightly before pulling back, his expression turning to horror. “He’s got Elizabeth mooning over him; he could do anything to her!”

“If he does, it’ll be the last thing he ever does,” John vowed in an icy tone, and Rodney nodded before glowering.

“Don’t even think that you’ll get to do him by yourself.”

“You’re hot when you’re bloodthirsty,” John said, trying to distract them both from the possibilities of what Lucius could do.

“Oh, ha ha—damn it, I can’t go near him, or I’ll go gaga over him again, won’t I?”

John snarled as he nodded grimly. “Yeah. You sentinels may even be more susceptible than the rest of us, thanks to your senses.”

“So what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“You’re the genius. Figure out some way to counteract it or get rid of the sonofabitch.”

“We need to get a hold of Carson.”

“Which will be easier than it should be since Ronon’s obsessed with Lucius,” John sighed. “I didn’t think anything could override the sentinel-guide bond.”

“Maybe since they’re both affected,” Rodney murmured, rubbing his chin as he thought. “You were what snapped me out of it.”

“That’s because I’m a possessive bastard who’s not sharing you with anyone.”

“That’s part of why I love you,” Rodney said. “And aren’t you supposed to be the military person here? Think of something tactical!”

“You really don’t want me to do that,” John said. “Right now what I want to do is go up to one of upper level catwalks with a rifle and shoot the sonofabitch right between the eyes!”

“The only problem I have with _that_ is the fact that the insane people we work with will then tear you limb from limb!” Rodney frowned, then nodded to himself. “Okay, we need to get Carson when he comes back. How good are you at faking it?”

John’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t think your ego needed the boost, but I can assure you I’ve never needed to.”

“Mind out of the gutter, John,” Rodney said sternly, though he couldn’t fight the grin that quirked his mouth. “You’re going to have to pretend to be a mindless devotee, and I’m going to have to try to stay away from Lucius. Hrmm, maybe I could be a distraction so you could grab Carson...”

John growled. “I don’t want him touching you!”

“He won’t be touching me,” Rodney assured him, stopping his pacing to catch John in a hug. “You know how I have this undeserved reputation for hypochondria? What if I decide something’s loose and decide to wear a haz-mat suit? He’s not going to be very happy with me, _and_ it’ll give you a chance to get Carson out of here, make him develop a cure, and fix everyone else!”

His arms tight around Rodney, John considered the plan and nodded slowly. “That could work. But you’d better rig the systems to show that something _is_ loose, or he’ll have the damn Marines yank you out of the suit.”

“I have the feeling they’re going to anyway, so you and Carson will have to be quick,” Rodney sighed. “If everyone’s in haz-mat suits, it’s going to wear off and he knows it; he’d probably just make us go off world with him or something, and then we’d be infatuated _and_ stuck on some backwater!”

“If he tries to take you anywhere, he’s a dead man!”

“Well, do you have a better idea?” Rodney demanded, frustration leaking into his tone.

John shook his head reluctantly. “But just so you know, if you get yourself kidnapped as a love slave, I’m going to be really pissed.”

“Not as pissed as I’ll be after I come out of it—now maybe we should get this started so we can save Elizabeth from that fate?” Rodney suggested.

After pulling Rodney into a hard, possessive kiss, John reluctantly let go of him and stepped back. “Let’s hope Ronon’s distracted enough by Lucius not to rend me limb from limb for kidnapping his guide.”

“Let’s hope that they get back from that planet in one piece,” Rodney murmured.

John flinched. “If they don’t, I can guarantee Lucius will pay for it,” he said in a voice gone cold and hard.

“They will; now we should go to the control room and wait for them. I need...” Rodney spun and went to dig in a dresser drawer, pulling out a face mask. “Okay, I’m going to look stupid, but for now I’ll tell him that I don’t want to catch your disease.”

“So now I’m diseased, huh?” John said, trying to calm them both with the usual joking, and Rodney gave a half grin, trying to help.

“Yup, you’re infected with me, and you’re never going to recover.”

“Good, I don’t want to. But we do have to get rid of our pest infestation, so let’s do it.”

Rodney grabbed him and kissed him again before slipping the mask over his lower face and making sure it was secure. “Control room?”

John nodded and they were off to retake their city, reaching the control room not long before the gate whooshed to life. Wraith energy blasts tore through the opening, causing everyone to duck for cover, and Carson, Ronon and Teyla raced through even as the gate tech scrambled to close down the feed.

“That was a hoot!” Carson laughed, gasping for breath even as he leaned on Ronon for support.

John’s snarl was almost subvocal, and the look he gave Lucius should have incinerated him on the spot. “You keep that hazmat suit on,” he growled at Rodney, the threat undiminished by being nearly soundless.

“Did you get it?” Lucius asked greedily before beaming as the trio held up sacks of a root.

“Yes, it was most exhilarating,” Teyla grinned.

John followed Carson when the doctor left to process the herb for Lucius, promising it wouldn’t take long. It was almost embarrassingly easy for John to overpower the Scot, and he made a mental note to have a talk with Ronon about some training for his guide.

Even with Rodney on his side, John knew that Radek and the other scientists would be able to track him inside the city, so he dragged his unconscious captive to the jumper bay and headed for the mainland, hoping he’d be able to break through Carson’s haze of mindless adoration.

“Rodney, where’s John?” Lucius asked, sounding cajoling.

“I... think he went to lie down,” Rodney said, hoping his nerves didn’t show behind the faceplate of his haz-mat suit.

“Ah yes, he’s not feeling well. Well, since he isn’t here, why don’t you take off that thing; there’s no fear of contamination.”

Rodney grimaced and edged back. “I’d rather leave it on; I don’t want to get sick.”

“Rodney.” Now Lucius’ tone was stern. “Take off the suit.”

At Lucius’ tone, Ronon and Lorne both moved closer, to either side of Rodney, and the scientist gulped. “Really, I’d rather not...” He tried to duck away but the other two men grabbed him and Lucius reached for the locks on the head piece.

“Now then, let’s try this again.”

“Ronon, where’s Carson?” Rodney asked quickly. “Don’t you care that he isn’t here?”

Ronon frowned, but before he could answer, the blare of an alarm drew everyone’s attention to the monitors.

“What’s that?” Lucius demanded.

“Bio-hazard warning,” Lorne said frowning. “Maybe there is something to McKay’s hypochondria.”

“My _what_?” Rodney exclaimed.

“There really is a problem?” Lucius exclaimed. “Get me one of those suits!”

Lorne let go of Rodney at that and raced for the suit, passing Elizabeth by as she raced into the gate room. “Lulu, what’s wrong?” she gasped.

“There’s a... Rodney! What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know!” Rodney told him, trying to sound panicked. “I need to check the sensors.”

“Well, check them!” Lucius slid an arm around Elizabeth’s waist, drawing her to his side. “Don’t worry, pet, I’m here.”

Elizabeth sighed in pleasure and leaned against him while Rodney tried not to gag as he turned, heading for the console to examine the readouts, hoping John returned soon with a cure for this madness.

~*~*~

“Good morning, sunshine,” John said cheerfully from his comfortable sprawl in the pilot’s seat of the jumper when he noticed Carson stirring.

“What? John! What did ye do? Where are we?” Carson gasped, sitting upright and staring wildly around.

“On the mainland. How do you feel?” John observed Carson carefully.

“We need ta get back! Lucius needs me; I’m ta give him the gene therapy.” He sounded proud of that fact while John looked as if he’d swallowed a hedgehog.

“So Lucius needs you, huh? What about Ronon? Doesn’t he need you anymore, or is Lucius more important now?”

“Don’t be daft, Ronon’s fine,” Carson huffed.

“So Lucius is your first thought now?” John shook his head slightly. “I know I’m new to this guide stuff, but I’m pretty sure your sentinel’s supposed to come first.”

“He does!” Carson said hotly. “But Lucius...” he stopped and frowned, shaking his head.

“Yes?” John asked, eyebrows raised.

“Lucius... Where’s Ronon? What the bloody hell is going on, John?”

John eyed him, not quite convinced of Carson’s return to rationality. “First tell me what you think of Lucius.”

“He’s a dear friend,” Carson said promptly.

John sighed. “Why?”

“Because—because he is!”

“A good enough friend that you didn’t mind Ronon nearly getting killed by the Wraith just to get Lucius an herb?”

“He dinna nearly get killed,” Carson said hotly. “And I was there with him!”

“Since when do you go on missions like that?”

Carson blinked. “Why can’t we just go back to Atlantis?”

“If we were ready to go back, you wouldn’t need to ask that.”

“Colonel, ye’ve been ill; I really think ye need ta go back to the infirmary.”

“Carson, I have a cold, not the plague. And I think you need to rest for a while.”

“But I have ta get back ta Ronon,” Carson said plaintively.

“Ronon or Lucius?” John asked bluntly.

“Ronon a’course,” Carson frowned. “He’s been alone so long, and now ye’ve kidnapped me! Ye’re going ta be lucky if he leaves Rodney in one piece!”

“Ronon’s a little too fascinated with Lucius to notice anything else at the moment,” John replied, watching Carson closely as the doctor frowned, looking hurt.

“Well, Lucius is...”

“Yes? What is Lucius?” John prompted, causing Carson to glare at him in frustration.

“What do ye want from me?”

“I want to know why a man you didn’t know yesterday is suddenly your best friend and at least as important to you as your own sentinel.”

Carson frowned but seemed to admit the point. “If he’s so dangerous, why did ye leave Rodney alone with him?” he challenged.

“Because Rodney’s doing his part to help save the expedition _again_... and he’s wearing a hazmat suit!” John snapped, his worry about Rodney making him short-tempered.

“And why would he be doing that?” Carson snapped back.

“To avoid Lucius’ damned herb-enhanced pheromones!” John snarled. “Or do you really think everyone in the city simultaneously fell in love with him?!”

“What herb-enhanced pheromones? Colonel, I really believe that yer fever is spiking.”

John sighed, staring out the front window of the jumper at the greenery. “I really hoped getting you away for a little while would let it wear off.  Rodney snapped out of it when I got him away from Lucius for a while... though it helped that he was already worried about me, and I pushed him into a situation where he had to choose. Unfortunately, Ronon’s not here for that to help you... and you already let him go off on a pointless mission where he easily could have been killed because Lucius wanted it. Rodney wouldn’t have done that.”

Carson’s head snapped up and he glared at John, his blue eyes turning flinty. “What tha hell do ye mean by that, Colonel? Ronon’s been through enough; there’s no way in hell I would send him off on a fool’s errand that could get him hurt!”

“Then what do you call going to a known Wraith-infested planet to gather an herb with absolutely no medicinal or nutritional value?”

“I—we —” Carson stammered before looking away.

“Yes?” John pressed, watching him.

“I dinna know why we went.”

“And yet you did. Not only did you go, but you didn’t try to stop Ronon from facing the Wraith again for no reason after everything he’s faced.”

Carson scrubbed at his face, his expression bleak. “Bloody hell, what have I done? I brought him to Atlantis!”

John let out a sigh of relief although he didn’t relax fully yet. “You weren’t exactly responsible for your actions.”

“That does nae make it better. What can we do ta stop him?”

“I brought a sample of the herb. You need to develop an antidote or nullifier or something.”

Carson nodded at that and held out his hand. “All right, let’s get ta work.”

John looked at him searchingly for a long moment before he nodded and got to his feet, going in back to retrieve the sample, which he handed to Carson.

“I really hope you can do it with what’s available in the jumper? ‘Cause, frankly, it’s gonna be pretty hard to get to the gate to go anywhere else.”

“I’ll make it work,” Carson promised, examining the sample and getting to his feet, prepared to work.

~*~*~

“Thank God that’s over,” John sighed much later that day once the dust had settled and Lucius had been sent back where he came, the effects of his herb neutralized thanks to Carson’s efforts, leaving Atlantis full of angry and embarrassed people. He and Rodney had made their escape as soon as they could, and now they were finally alone with the door to their quarters securely locked behind them.

“Sorry I told on you,” Rodney sighed, coming up behind John and hugging him. “When I lost the suit... Well, you know what happened.”

John turned in Rodney’s arms and pulled him close. “I’m just glad Carson’s cure worked and that bastard is gone.”

“I bet his balls are gone; I’m amazed Teyla and Elizabeth let him leave with them,” Rodney murmured, resting his face against John’s shoulder.

“If he’d actually touched anyone, they wouldn’t have,” John replied without the slightest shade of doubt. “But since he didn’t, I don’t think they wanted any part of him left behind here.”

“Hrmm, good point,” Rodney nodded. “How’re you feeling? Getting stunned on top of being sick isn’t good for you.”

John shrugged. “The headache will go. I feel a lot better than Lucius did after Cadman and Lindstrom took a shot at him.” He smiled grimly at the memory.

“He’d better hope none of us run into him in the future,” Rodney commented, maneuvering them toward the bed and sitting John down on it. “And stay there, I’ll get you something for your head.”

“What would really help is curling up in bed with you and being able to relax.”

“We can do that _after_ I get you some aspirin,” Rodney countered, and John chuckled wryly.

“This is you making me pay for using the cold to worry you enough to break free of Lucius’ hold, isn’t it?”

Rodney smirked at that and headed for the bathroom, coming back with pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “Here you are,” he said, handing them over. “Now take them like a good boy, then I’ll rub your back.”

John rolled his eyes, but he knew better than to argue. “Yes, Mom,” he muttered under his breath before swallowing the pills.

“And if you’re good, the things I’ll do to you when we wake up you do not want to think of in the same breath with your mother.”

“I’m very, very good,” John assured him, and Rodney snorted.

“You’re getting over being sick and being stunned; you can be good in the morning.”

“Tease,” John accused before yawning, and he had to chuckle wryly. “But you have a point.”

“In other words, I’m right,” Rodney smirked. “Though I should have had you strip down before getting in bed.”

John groaned into the pillow. “Just cut them off; I’m too tired to move.”

After sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling off his boots, Rodney began to work on John’s clothes, moving him as little as possible.

“I really, really love you,” John mumbled, causing Rodney to smile as he gently helped him out of his shirt.

“Love you too,” he murmured, tossing the shirt away and working on John’s boots and pants.

“I know. ‘Swhy _Lulu_ never had a chance.”

“I’d advise you to never say that word in front of Elizabeth,” Rodney snickered, finally getting John naked and rolling him over. After stripping himself, he sat beside John and began to massage his shoulders and back, working at the tight muscles.

“Mmm, feels good,” John said happily. “I really love your hands.”

“Just enjoy.”

“I am,” John assured him, eyes slowly closing as he relaxed.

“Good,” Rodney smiled, bending to kiss his shoulder before resuming the massage.

John was still smiling when he slid into sleep a little while later, Rodney continuing to work on his back until he was totally relaxed before thinking down the lights and crawling in beside him.

~*~*~

“Mmm, morning and all’s right in Atlantis,” John said happily, waking up wrapped in Rodney’s arms.

“Where’s Lucius?” Rodney yawned.

“What?” John yelped, sitting bolt upright and staring down at Rodney in horror only to have the sentinel start to shake with laughter before giving in and howling.

“Wha- you...” John sputtered before grabbing a pillow and whacking Rodney with it, Rodney still laughing as he tried to curl into a ball and protect himself.

“Husband abuse!”

“Yes, that’s what that joke qualified as!”

Rodney snickered and rolled to his back, holding his arms open. “Then come and let me make it all better.”

John immediately accepted the invitation, stretching out on top of Rodney. “That’s a lot to make up for,” he warned laughingly, causing Rodney to look at him askance.

“Are you saying you have a list?”

“Nope, I’m entirely in your hands.” John grinned down at him.

“Mmmmmm, what to do, what to do...”

“Do me,” John suggested.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a greedy guide?” Rodney commented wryly.

“Are you complaining?” John’s eyebrows rose.

“Not in the least,” Rodney laughed quietly before lowering his head and sucking on John’s nipple.

“Oh good,” John gasped, his back arching. “’Cause I’m not gonna change.”

“Better not.” Rodney then devoted himself to driving John insane, taking cues from his heart rate, breathing, and scent to let him go to the edge over and over before pulling him back, not letting him fall. All John could do was writhe and beg hungrily, abandoning himself completely to his sentinel’s knowing hands and mouth until there was nothing left but Rodney and the pleasure overwhelming all his senses.

Rodney finally lifted his head, his eyes darkened by need, one hand stroking over John’s body as he slicked himself up and pressed inward, feeling John’s heartbeat through the connection of their bodies, holding still until his own synced with it.

“Love you,” John whispered, staring up into the bright blue eyes, Rodney’s breath catching in his throat as he leaned in, closing his mouth over John’s, and began to move.

John moaned softly, the sound vanishing into the kiss, and he matched Rodney’s rhythm, reveling in every touch while Rodney rocked over him, each stroke stretched to the breaking point. John clung to Rodney, feeling him in every nerve and never wanting this to end.

“Knew Lucius couldn’t come between us,” he murmured.

“Who?” Rodney rasped, ignoring his own pleasure and concentrating on John’s.

John chuckled shakily, his whole body nothing but endless pleasure. “Love you.”

Rodney’s response was a low growl as he claimed John’s mouth again, sliding his body against his erection as he drove inward, each stroke hitting John’s prostate and making him writhe and cry out into the possessive kiss. John clung desperately to Rodney as the pleasure wound tighter and tighter until it burst, radiating through him in incandescent bursts of pure sensation.

Rodney’s senses all spiked, and he lost himself in John’s climax, riding the wave, his own reaction twining with John’s until they both came back to themselves in a sweaty, sated heap on the bed.

“The hot sentinel killed the guide, but satisfaction brought him back,” John mumbled into Rodney’s hair.

Rodney responded with an unintelligible mutter that turned into a blissful sigh as he took a deep breath, filling his nose with their combined scents.

“Let’s just stay right here, like this, for a week or so,” John suggested, perfectly content right where he was.

“Like that idea. Call Lorne and Radek,” Rodney mumbled.

“You want Elizabeth, Cadman and Lindstrom all pissed at us?”

“You saved them, they owe us.”

“Good point.” John grabbed his radio off the table and activated. “Lorne. Sheppard here. Rodney and I are taking tomorrow off. It’s up to you and Radek to keep Atlantis afloat.”

Hearing the voices behind Lorne’s, Rodney chuckled. “I’m not sure he’d notice if the city sank right now.”

John chuckled too. “Feel free to delegate too; I really don’t care. Just make sure it stops at an officer, not a lowly enlisted.”

“Yessir,”” Lorne’s voice held a hint of laughter.

“Mmm, a day off,” Rodney sighed once John signed off, “I like the sound of that.”

“We earned it.” John drew Rodney a little closer, settling them comfortably.

“Especially you.” Rodney yawned and nuzzled John’s neck.

~*~*~

“We should have stayed in our room,” John grumbled to Rodney. “Coming out never leads to anything good.”

“You mean like this lovely insect-ridden planet?” Rodney groaned before looking over at Ronon. “What’s wrong with you?”

Looking dismayed, Ronon said, “We need to leave. Now.”

“What? Why?” Rodney looked around at that, dialing up his senses, searching for the danger Ronon seemed to sense.

“I’ve been here before,” he growled in response, trying to turn the team back toward the stargate.

“Perhaps we should do as he says,” Teyla murmured before both Rodney and Ronon turned in the same direction, guns raised.

“Going would be good!”

“Aw hell,” John groaned, raising his P90. “Let’s move it!” They took off running, trying to get to the gate, Rodney trying not to focus too tightly on the sounds that were quickly surrounding him. A loud crash from behind him told him that Ronon was down, and he tried to shove John in front of him only to have a searing pain drive into his ass, taking him to his knees.

“Rodney!” John stopped in his tracks, whirling to cover Rodney. Seeing Teyla stop as well, he yelled, “No! Get back to base and let them know what happened!”

“John—” Teyla protested before ducking an arrow and, after giving her teammates an anguished look, turning and running for the gate.

“John—go,” Rodney growled, trying to block the pain and get to his feet, but something hit him on the back of the head and everything went dark.

“Ne—Rodney!” John threw himself forward, trying to get to Rodney, but a moment later he was unconscious as well.

“You didn’t run,” Rodney said accusingly the moment John came awake. They, as well as Ronon, were tied in separate corners of a cage and the natives didn’t look all too friendly.

John gave him a look. “Did you really think that was even a possibility? And you’d better not be getting dirt in that wound.”

“And how do you suppose I should keep it clean?” Rodney asked acerbically before looking over at Ronon. “ _Now_ will you tell us what you know?”

The ex-Runner shrugged. “I visited once before. The Wraith followed me. A lot of people died, including the headman’s daughter. He’s pissed.”

John blinked at the succinct summation. “You can’t blame yourself for that,” he finally said.

“They died because I was here.”

“They died because the Wraith are genocidal maniacs,” John corrected.

“You didn’t make them come,” Rodney added with surprising understanding for him.

The headman walked over to the cage and studied them, his eyes narrowing to dark brown slits. “They came because of him, now he will pay for their lives.”

“Look,” John said, “I can’t say the Wraith won’t be back here again, but I can promise you they’re not coming back here because of him.”

“No. Not once we’ve sacrificed the Wraithbringer to his masters,” the native man snapped.

John eyed him. “He prefers ‘Ronon.’ Probably also prefers not to be sacrificed to the Wraith.”

“That’s something none of us prefers,” Rodney added quickly, frowning at the other sentinel’s lack of response.

“I said nothing of killing,” the native leader said. “The Wraith did not feed on us all last time. They promised that if he ever came back and we captured him, we would be forever free from culling in the future. I know not what his masters will do to him once we turn him over.”

He withdrew a device from his pocket and depressed part of it, causing a light to flash. “They left this to signal them.”

“Are you nuts?” John exclaimed. “They’re gonna kill all of us, you included.”

Ignoring him, the other man walked away without another word.

“Idiots, idiots,” Rodney growled. “They’re going to trust the Wraith?”

“Apparently this whole damn planet is insane,” John snarled, furious.

“Teyla will tell Atlantis what happened, they’ll come for us,” Rodney said, looking toward the trees in hope of seeing a gate team standing in the shadows.

John nodded, but Ronon remained silent, lost in memories.

“You know, you could feed us something,” Rodney yelled, frustration getting the better of him.

The headman approached, and then things moved very rapidly for a time, ending with Ronon holding a knife to his own throat until the villagers marched John and Rodney back to the gate and pushed them through, barely giving them time to send their IDC.

As they stumbled to a halt, John was already yelling for a doctor to help Rodney.

“What happened?” Elizabeth asked, just before Carson raced into the gate room.

“Where’s Ronon?” he demanded before visibly getting a hold of himself to assist Rodney though his hands were shaking.

“They kept him there,” Rodney gasped, focusing on John so as to tune out Carson’s probing of his wound.

“We’re going to get him back. I need a team,” John barked, torn between his concern for Rodney and for Ronon.

“I want to go with ye,” Carson said, looking up from Rodney, his face twisted in concern.

John hesitated but then nodded, knowing that it would be cruel to do otherwise. The doctor might normally be non-combat personnel, but the guide needed to go after his sentinel. “Gear up, Carson. We’re leaving in ten.”

“Ye’ll be in good hands, Rodney,” Carson promised as a medical team took the protesting scientist away. He looked over at John and nodded. “Thank ye, Colonel.”

It was even less than the promised ten minutes when John and Teyla led Carson and Lorne’s team back to the village... but it was a fifteen-minute trek each way between the gate and the village, and by the time they arrived, it was all over. No one was left alive, the only movement the flames of smoldering fires.

“Ronon...” Carson whispered, surveying the damage.

John gripped the physician’s shoulder. “We’ll find him.” He had no idea how yet, but they would.

Teyla returned to the group, shaking her head slightly. “They did not leave any survivors, but we did not find Ronon either, so there is hope.”

“They want to make him what he was,” Carson grated out.

“But he’s not what he was, and we’re not going to let them have him,” John promised the other guide.

“We will find him, Carson,” Teyla added, resting her hand on his shoulder, Carson only nodding as he surveyed the wreckage before them.

“We should get back to Atlantis now so we can figure out how,” John said, gently guiding Carson back out of the village, Lorne and his team following behind, scouting the area behind them.

~*~*~

“Nothing?” Rodney asked from his position on his stomach in the infirmary.

John slumped into a chair set where Rodney could see him. “The only people left in that village were dead, and there weren’t many of those. It was culled to extinction, Rodney.”

“The Wraith lying, amazing,” Rodney snarked before frowning. “Ronon?”

John shook his head. “Teyla found his blaster, but that’s it. As soon as you’re up to it, we’re going to meet to discuss ways to track him down.”

“I’m up to it now.” With that, Rodney started to climb off the bed.

John wanted to argue, but they needed Rodney, so instead he moved to support his sentinel, promising himself that once they had Ronon safely home, he would indulge himself by taking care of Rodney. “Can you walk to the conference room?”

“Of course,” Rodney snapped before taking a deep breath. “Sorry. How’s Carson?”

“About how you’d expect. For a mild-mannered guy, he can be damn scary. Makes you remember that the Scots scared the Romans.”

“Then we’d better get Ronon back before he paints his face blue and starts screaming.” Rodney wrapped his robe around himself and took a step, wincing slightly at the pain before he dialed it down.

“Lean on me,” John ordered him as they started down the hall. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“Thank goodness,” Rodney murmured as they slowly made their way toward the conference.

“Once we get Ronon back, I think we may have Carson along with us on our next few missions,” John mused.

“We’ll make them easy missions,” Rodney nodded before snorting. “Never mind, forget I said that, the easy ones always turn out to be the worst.”

John gave him a wry look. “Noticed that, did you? _Nothing_ is easy in this galaxy.”

“But there are good things.”

“Yeah, some really good things,” John agreed, steering Rodney toward a seat once they entered the meeting room where the senior staff was already assembled and waiting for them.

Rejecting the chair with wave of his hand to indicate his injury, Rodney carefully leaned against the wall, the pressure on his uninjured side, watching Carson’s ruddy complexion with concern as Elizabeth reviewed the situation. It was Teyla who pointed out, “If the Wraith placed a tracking device in him the way they did last time...”

John instantly turned to Rodney. “Can you pick up a signal?”

“I’ll have to configure—of course I can,” Rodney said quickly when Carson looked at him sharply.

“You know Rodney does what he puts his mind to, Carson,” John said gently. “Besides, it’s to his advantage to have Ronon on our team, much safer that way.”

Carson took a deep breath and let it out before nodding. “Aye, I know ye’ll do yer best, Rodney.”

“And once I do, then we can all go get him.”

~*~*~

Knowing he would only be in the way, John didn’t follow Rodney back to his lab right away after the meeting, instead meeting with Elizabeth and Lorne to debrief her fully and make tentative plans for retrieving Ronon once Rodney found him.

Done with that, John stopped in the mess hall for a snack and coffee and made his way to the lab, looking around in surprise when he didn’t see Rodney immediately. Calling the sentinel’s name solved the mystery, allowing him to find Rodney stretched out on his belly at one side of the lab where no one would step on him.

John eyed him, amused despite the situation. “That must be a real pain in the ass.”

“Oh, that’s amusing,” Rodney grumbled, tilting his head to glare at John before going back to what he was doing.

“I thought so.” John dropped down to sit cross-legged next to Rodney, one hand automatically coming to rest on the sentinel’s back. “Are you making any progress?”

“I’ve managed to isolate the signal the transmitter that was in Ronon last year was giving off; it’s going to take a while to reconfigure our scanners to detect it though.” Rodney sighed and looked over at John. “This really sucks.”

John nodded. “Yeah, it does. But we’re going to fix it. Ronon belongs here, and we’re going to bring him home.”

“Keep telling Carson that,” Rodney sighed.

“Actually, it’s safest to leave him be at the moment. He’s a little... irritable.” John shifted a little closer to Rodney. “Understandably.”

Rodney nodded and shifted his weight to one elbow to catch John’s hand. “We’ll find him.”

“I know.” John squeezed Rodney’s fingers. “Just track that signal, Rodney. Then we can go get him.”

“I will, we will,” Rodney promised, squeezing back and taking a deep breath. “Not sure when I’ll get home tonight.”

John stretched his legs out, crossed his ankles, and leaned back. “I’m in no hurry.”

Rodney glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head and went back to work.

John smiled to himself and closed his eyes, content to be with Rodney. A nap seemed like a very good idea to him just then.

“Got it!” Rodney cried some hours later, slamming his hand on the floor in triumph.

Long used to him by now, John didn’t jump even when jolted out of a sound sleep but simply opened his eyes and stretched. “Got the signal from the tracker?”

“Yes!” Rodney frowned as he stared at the screen. “Seven of them actually, but look at this one.” He turned the laptop to show John, at the same time pointing to a blip on the screen. “It’s on Sateda.”

“Ronon.” John got to his feet, his face set in a steely expression. “Let’s go get him.”

“Let’s tell Carson,” Rodney corrected.

“Of course. And then we’ll all go get him.”

Rodney nodded, starting to get up and wincing. “Urmm, give me a hand up?” he asked plaintively.

“Whenever you need it,” John replied, taking Rodney’s hand and drawing him to his feet and into an embrace. He could only imagine what Carson was going through just then, and with that in mind, he needed to hold onto his own sentinel for a bit.

“Yeah,” Rodney murmured, “you do.” He closed his eyes for a moment before drawing back. “Let’s go get Carson and Teyla.”

~*~*~

Unfortunately, nothing was ever as easy as hoped, and the next hiccup in their plans to recover Ronon was the discovery that the gate wouldn’t engage to Sateda, most likely as result of something the Wraith had done. Then Caldwell didn’t want to risk the _Daedalus_ against the hive ship that almost certainly was there, but the unflinching determination of the entire senior staff of Atlantis quickly put an end to that.

They decided to go in the _Daedalus_ , then once it was in the Satedan system, continue to the planet in a cloaked puddlejumper. John, Rodney, Teyla and Carson would rescue Ronon.

“I want to go with ye,” Carson said, breaking the silence in the jumper.

“I know you do,” John replied, “but with the Wraith here, someone has to stay with the jumper. We’ll bring him back to you, Carson.”

“But he could be hurt, I need ta be there,” Carson protested, and Teyla rested her hand on his arm in sympathy.

“We understand, but we need you to stay with the jumper, Carson,” she said gently. “We _will_ bring him back to you.”

Now John looked at Rodney. “I know you don’t want to hear this, Rodney, but with your injury, you should stay on the jumper too. You can do us more good here.”

“What?” Rodney asked, his chin going up and his eyes narrowing. “I’m fine, I can block it, I—“

“If ye do that, ye’ll hurt yourself more,” Carson stated.

“We’ll get him back, and if we run into trouble, you can shoot the hell out of them,” John said. “Trust me.”

Rodney scowled but finally nodded. “Bring him—and _yourselves_ back.”

John nodded and after a second’s hesitation due to not wanting to rub Carson’s nose in the absence of his own sentinel, he pulled Rodney into his arms for a quick, hard kiss. “Keep a candle burning in the window.”

“We will,” Rodney promised, still looking unhappy about the whole situation.

~*~*~

Past and present had blurred for Ronon as he made his way along the same tunnels he and his team had been through on his last day on Sateda, the memories as real to him as the ruins around him. Melena, Kell, so many others, all dead now and yet they lived on his memory.

He was abruptly drawn back to the present by the unique sound of a Wraith dart soaring overhead, followed by a transporter beam. A moment later a Wraith tracker moved into the room, the same hospital room where Melena had died, and Ronon glared at it, speaking to the Wraith he knew was watching. “You’re a coward!”

An instant later, the device was destroyed by gunfire, and Ronon turned to face the door, somehow knowing what he would see. John and Teyla continued into the room and moved to his side, their eyes cataloging his injuries.

“We have a jumper,” Teyla assured him as she reached for a bandage, wrapping it around Ronon’s upper arm. “Carson and Rodney are waiting there for us.”

“Carson,” Ronon whispered longingly even as he shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Ronon, there is no reason to stay here,” Teyla said gently. “Come back to the jumper with us.”

The big Satedan shook his head. “I _can’t_. Keturah and his people—they had a deal. They traded me for their freedom.”

John winced, placing a hand on Ronon’s shoulder, but it was Teyla who said, “Ronon, the Wraith didn’t honor the deal. Keturah and his village, they’re all dead.”

“So can we go now?” John suggested. “Carson would really like it if we brought you back alive.”

Ronon shook his head again. “No. I’m going to kill the Wraith responsible for this. I just need to kill enough of the ones on the planet to draw him down here.”

“Then I guess you’re going to need this,” John said, opening his jacket to pull out Ronon’s blaster, which he handed over. “You’re welcome!” he yelled after Ronon’s departing back.

~*~*~

“Any news yet?” Rodney asked after keying John’s radio.

“Ronon won’t leave until we kill enough Wraith soldiers to get the commander down here so he can kill him.” John’s frustration was clear in his voice.

“What?!”

“Did ye give him a radio?” Carson asked, leaning in and looking out the viewscreen at the blasted city around them as if he could conjure Ronon by wishing for him.

“He took off too quickly,” John admitted. “And now we’re going after him.”

Carson cursed quietly, and Rodney’s jaw clenched. “I’m going to come help.”

“Rodney, right now you can help us more by staying right where you are and firing drones if we need you to. As pissed as Ronon is right now, he may not leave any Wraith for anyone else to kill,” John added wryly. “You can keep track of us with the life signs monitor.”

“That’s being helpful,” Rodney muttered, his head jerking upward as he caught the sound of a distant explosion.

“At least you don’t have a history of trying to shoot _me_ with them,” John replied an instant before firing off a burst.

“That’s not helping, John,” Rodney snapped when Carson muttered something under his breath. “Just... help him and get back here as soon as you can—all of you.”

Seeing that his attempt to lighten the moment with a little humor had backfired, John let it go and simply replied, “Will do.”

When John signed off, Rodney and Carson sat in silence, the sentinel straining his senses even as he watched the life signs detector and the guide praying that his partner would be all right.

The Wraith signals rapidly decreased from the twenty-five that had appeared at first, showing just how much devastation an enraged Ronon could wreak. John and Teyla took out several as well, but the lion’s share fell to Ronon’s hand.

The energy readout on the display screen flared as a dart zoomed overhead, and Rodney keyed his radio. “Something just transported in; I think the wait is over.”

Ronon, John and Teyla had regrouped, and the sentinel faced the other two. “You kill him before I do, I kill you.”

John stared. “What if he kills you first?”

“Then you kill him,” Ronon replied before stalking away. John and Teyla exchanged a glance, waited a beat and followed him.

~*~*~

“What the hell is he doing?” Rodney demanded as he watched Ronon approach the Wraith.

Carson swallowed tightly and fisted his hand on his leg. “What he feels he needs to,” he whispered.

~*~*~

“I could take him out right now,” John murmured, sighting on the Wraith leader’s head from where he and Teyla watched from atop a nearby building.

“Ronon would never forgive you if you did that,” Teyla murmured though she was prepared to fire as well.

“ _Carson_ will never forgive me if I don’t and that bastard kills him.”

“We must let him fight, John.”

“I don’t have to like it,” John grumbled, only to start when the jumper uncloaked directly in front of the Wraith, with Carson visible in the pilot’s seat.

The Wraith was focused on his fallen prey, not noticing the jumper until a drone slammed into his chest, crushing him into the half-shattered wall behind him. The dust had barely settled when Carson was out of the jumper, skidding to his knees at Ronon’s side, checking the other man’s pulse and brushing a hand over his forehead.

“I think he’ll forgive Carson,” John muttered to Teyla as they got to their feet to make their way down to join their team. “And I’m amazed he held out that long.”

“John!” Rodney rushed over to them, checking his guide over to assure himself that he was unharmed.

John pulled Rodney into a quick, hard embrace before letting go again. “We’ve got to get out of here; there’s a still a hive ship in orbit.” He looked over at where Ronon and Carson were holding each other tightly and gave them another moment.

“It’s always something,” Rodney groaned.

Before John could reply, a blast hit the ground just behind them, and they all bolted toward the jumper’s hatch. John all but threw himself into the pilot’s seat and launched the jumper into the air before the others had even reached their seats. Not till they were cloaked and safely out of range of the hive ship did John slow down and turn to face the others again.

“I didn’t fire the drone,” Rodney said quickly.

Ronon glanced over at him, then looked back at Carson silently for long moments.

“I wasnae going ta let him hurt ye any more than he had,” Carson explained quietly. “I’m sorry if it wasnae what ye wanted.”

Ronon suddenly pulled him into a tight hug.  “Thank you.”

“I could’ve shot him!” John protested.

“I could have as well,” Rodney added, watching the other pair then looking at John again, feeling some of the tension curled in his gut relax.

Ronon and Carson ignored them utterly, and John shrugged. “I’d say that it’s time to go home... although maybe you could get the new tracker out of him, Carson?” he suggested loudly.

The doctor blinked at that before nodding tightly. “Aye, we need ta do that—and ye will be having anesthetic this time,” he said sternly, turning his full attention back to Ronon.

Ronon looked at him, opened his mouth to reply, and toppled to the floor unconscious, Carson and Teyla diving for him to keep his head from hitting the ground. Working swiftly, Carson stripped the battered body armor from him, injected anesthetic, and had the tracker removed, handing it over to Rodney, who deactivated it.

“And now, let’s go find the _Daedalus_ and go home,” John said.  “Next stop, lingerie.”

~*~*~

 

The lights in the infirmary were low, and Carson sat in a chair by Ronon’s bed, from time to time making notes on a tablet though the majority of his attention was on his sentinel. Hours had passed before Ronon finally stirred, his exhaustion eased by the sleep. His eyes opened, immediately focusing on Carson, and then he frowned as he registered his surroundings.

“Why are we here instead of our quarters?”

“That would be because ye were beaten senseless then had surgery,” Carson replied mildly.

“Which I could recover from much better in the comfort of my own bed, with my guide next to me,” Ronon grumbled, sitting up, Carson shooting to his feet to hold him in place.

“Stay still!” he demanded. “I’ve had ta cut ye open again, and I dinna want ye ta hurt yerself more.”

Ronon rolled his eyes and grabbed hold of Carson’s wrist to pull him down and kiss him hard. “I’m _fine_ , and I want us in our bed.”

“Ye were—” Carson began before pulling back. “Fine, ye want ta go back ta our room, let’s go.”

Ronon frowned, looking at him searchingly. “I want to be alone with you,” he said almost plaintively.

Carson paused and bit his lower lip. “I’m sorry, love,” he whispered, reaching out for Ronon’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

The response drew a brilliant smile from Ronon, one even his team rarely saw, and he got to his feet, holding tightly to Carson’s hand. “Home,” he repeated softly.

“Nothing strenuous for you tonight—or for the next few days though,” Carson cautioned as they walked slowly out of the room, arms around each other.

“Well, then, why don’t I lie back and enjoy you taking me,” Ronon said in a voice even deeper than usual.

Carson took a deep breath, knowing that Ronon could hear the sudden spike in his heartbeat. “Aye, that would be for the best,” he rasped.

“If you don’t mind, of course,” Ronon teased.

“I believe I could be talked into it.” Carson’s voice broke on the last, and he pulled Ronon into a tight hug.

“Then maybe we should get to our room before we give the whole city a show,” Ronon murmured in his guide’s ear, returning the embrace with interest.

Carson nodded, unable to speak as they began to walk again, heading for the transporter and their room. The moment the door slid closed behind them, he caught Ronon in a hug, drawing him down for a kiss. Long moments passed before Ronon raised his head again, cupping Carson’s cheek in a tender palm.

“My ghosts are laid to rest now,” he said softly. “I won’t do that to you again.”

“I couldnae just watch him hurt ye,” Carson husked, one hand trailing down Ronon’s chest, and Ronon covered it with one of his.

“I’m glad. And I would have done the same if the situation was reversed.”

“I’m nae a stubborn specialist thinking I have ta do everything on my own, am I?”

Ronon smiled wryly. “I’m going to hear that a lot, aren’t I?” He reached past Carson and pressed the control panel, sending the transporter toward the residential area where they had their room.

“More than likely,” Carson murmured as their door opened and they walked inside, the doctor breathing a sigh of relief once they were alone and he had Ronon safe with him.

“Maybe we could just stay here tomorrow?” Ronon suggested, feeling himself relax with the door shut behind him.

“I told ye,” Carson explained as he gently removed the scrub shirt Ronon was wearing and placed a kiss over his heart.

“We can have a lot more fun here than we could in the infirmary.”

“As yer physician, I should be telling ye ta rest,” Carson commented even as he kissed his way down Ronon’s neck, paying particular attention to the tattoo that marked his skin on the left side, making the Satedan shiver.

“As my lover, you should be wearing me out so that I can sleep well,” Ronon corrected.

Carson tilted his head back, studying Ronon’s expression before nodding as if to himself. “Aye, I should be. Why don’t ye get the rest of yer things off and get inta bed—on yer stomach, then I’ll do what I can.”

Momentarily startled as he’d expected to have to try harder to persuade Carson to set aside the healer in favor of the lover, Ronon quickly recovered and grinned at his guide while stripping rapidly. “You can do a great deal,” he assured Carson.

“I can’t give you back yer home, but I can try my best.” Carson stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto the bed beside Ronon, stroking his hand over the fresh bruises and the bandaged spot on the larger man’s upper back. Ronon turned his head so he could look at Carson, his dark eyes heavy lidded as he gazed at his lover.

“You gave me a new home, here, with you.”

Carson smiled gently and leaned in to brush a kiss over Ronon’s forehead before he sat back and reached for a container of massage oil, poured some into the palm of his hand and began to massage the other man’s shoulders.

Ronon made a sound a lot like a purr as he melted into the mattress, a smile curving his lips. “You have incredible hands.”

“I’m glad ye think so.” Carson murmured, working on the tense muscles, feeling them slowly loosen and as they did, he worked his way lower.

“We should do this more often,” Ronon mumbled. “Feels good.”

“Preferably without almost losing ye.”

“That would be better,” Ronon agreed. “Like it here, with you.”

Carson continued to work his way over Ronon’s back, taking care to stay away from his incision and keeping his touch light over the bruises that marked his sides, interspersing the long strokes with kisses on the warm, slick skin.

“I like this Earth custom of ‘kissing it better’,” Ronon murmured, shifting languorously against the crisp sheets.

“I think ye’ll like what’s ta come even more,” Carson said, smiling against Ronon’s back before gently pulling his asscheeks apart and swiping his tongue up the shadowed valley between them.

“Carson!” Ronon wailed the name as his back arched, his legs spread wide as Carson delved deeper, pressing against the tight entrance to Ronon’s body and then inside. The sentinel writhed on the bed, pushing back against Carson’s tongue, moaning hungrily with every movement.

Carson slid a slick hand under him, stroking his erection at the same time he pulled back slightly to blow a stream of cool air across the damp flesh.

“So good,” Ronon whispered, rocking slowly between Carson’s hand and mouth. Carson gently raked his teeth over the meat of Ronon’s ass before delving into his ass again, each thrust of his tongue in time with the movements of his hand.

“Not going to last,” Ronon gasped, every breath a near sob.

“Let yourself go, love,” Carson whispered, knowing that Ronon would hear him. “I’ll be here to catch ye.”

Ronon cried out, a wordless bellow torn from the depths of his soul full of years of rage and grief... and the love and trust that had replaced them. The sound still filled the room when he came, paroxysms of pleasure wracking his body.

Carson crawled up the length of Ronon’s body, wrapping himself around Ronon’s body on his uninjured side. “Ah love, ye mean the world ta me,” he whispered.

“And you to me,” Ronon replied. “You helped me find my way back.”

Carson kissed him again at that, one hand stroking over his hair as the other caressed the side of his face. “Ye have no idea how thankful I am for that.”

“Me too,” Ronon admitted. He nestled back against Carson and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the familiar warm scent.

“Rest, love,” Carson murmured, sliding his arm around Ronon’s waist and hugging him close. “I’ll be here when ye wake.”

Ronon made a soft sound of contentment and closed his eyes. “Want you to fuck me then.”

Carson shook his head and laughed under his breath. “I’ll be glad ta do that.”

“Good. Want you to. Not getting out of it.”

“Why would ye think I want out of it?”

Ronon rubbed his ass against the erection he could feel nestled against him. “Not doing anything about it.”

“Tonight isn’t about me,” Carson pointed out, the words catching in his throat.

Ronon half turned to peer at Carson in disbelief. “And you don’t think I enjoy feeling you inside me?”

“I was _trying_ to relax ye enough ta sleep,” Carson protested.

“That would relax me.”

“Ronon…” Carson began before the other man ground back against him again and his half-hearted protest changed to a moan.

“Carson,” he replied, grinning wickedly, though Carson couldn’t see it. “Fuck me.”

“Bloody stubborn specialist,” Carson muttered under his breath though his voice had grown rough with need, and he reached down to hook his boxers off so that his erection could slot against the slick valley of Ronon’s ass.

“Yes,” Ronon hissed, reaching back to grasp Carson’s hip. “In me. Now.”

“Oh Lord.” Carson pulled back enough to slick himself up, then pressed inside, the tight grip of the channel around him drawing a harsh gasp from his lips before he pressed them against Ronon’s shoulder.

“Perfect,” Ronon groaned, clenching down on him. “Wish you could stay here forever.”

“It might keep ye safer if I could,” Carson gasped, rocking his hips as he slid back and forth, the sensation threatening to overwhelm him.

“Can’t promise to play it safe, but I’ll do everything in my power to come home to you.” Ronon squirmed on Carson’s cock, loving the feeling, and Carson nodded, not trusting himself to speak. His body tightened, but he held back, wanting to give Ronon everything he needed.

“Come,” Ronon rasped, knowing what his guide was doing. “Want to feel you.”

Carson’s laugh was almost a wail as he arched forward, pressing his face against Ronon’s shoulder as he climaxed, his whole body shaking with the force of his pleasure.

“ _Now_ I’m relaxed,” Ronon said a little later once Carson had slumped against him, panting for breath.

“Then sleep,” Carson murmured, laughing quietly, hugging Ronon close to assure himself he was safe, and safe in his guide’s arms, Ronon did just that, a smile curving his lips as he dozed off.

~*~*~

“You know,” Rodney commented, looking around at the other three sentinels who were gathered with him near the gate on an uninhabited world, “the last time we did this I ended up with Cadman in my head. Nothing against you, Cadman, but if it happens again, I’m going to have a psychotic break.”

“Lisa said something similar,” Laura snickered. “She doesn’t want to kiss you again.”

Eric Markham snickered at that before holding up his hands at Rodney’s glare. “Sorry, Doc, I was imagining that Maj. Lorne thought the same thing.”

“Yeah, but that could be ‘cause he’s afraid of what Sheppard will do to him,” Ronon pointed out.

“I can’t argue with that,” Laura laughed before looking at Rodney pointedly. “And don’t argue with that fact, Doc.”

Ronon snorted a laugh. “No one with two eyes could argue it.”

“As if you wouldn’t tear apart anyone who looked at Carson closely,” Rodney pointed out.

Ronon bared his teeth in a smile that was answer enough, and the others laughed.

“So, what do you say we find our guides,” Eric suggested before studying the weathered grass near the gate.

“I think that’s a very good idea,” Ronon announced, taking a step forward. “I have plans for mine.”

“Oh, now there’s a shock,” Rodney snickered before turning his attention to the task at hand, ignoring Cadman’s comment that he was one to talk.

“I wasn’t quite clear,” Markham commented. “Are they actively trying to hide from us or just not making it easy by sitting here at the gate to greet us?”

“That was up to them,” Laura replied, “want to bet which it is?”

Ronon snorted. “Sheppard and Lindstrom are there. Sucker bet.”

Eric laughed. “You really think Leo’s not egging them on?”

“I’m amazed Carson’s not sitting here waiting for you no matter what they planned to do,” Rodney said, squatting down and nodding at the faint footprints. “There, they all left together.”

Ronon only smiled, knowing that Carson took his duties as a guide very seriously... and he wasn’t nearly as staid as the others seemed to think. “So we follow them.”

Eric grinned as they started out, each sentinel heightening their senses as they started out, searching out the signs of their guide’s trail and following it into the trees.

“This mission has to go better than our last,” Laura observed to Rodney, moving over so she was walking along beside him as Ronon took the lead. “Don’t forget that they might split up,” she called forward, and the Satedan waved a hand in acknowledgement.

“That leaves a hell of a lot of leeway,” Rodney answered, not letting her speak before addressing her last statement. “Look at who we’re dealing with; of course they’re going to split up.”

“So should we surprise them and not each go after our own guide?” Laura suggested. “I’ll bet they’re planning their tactics based on knowing how we think, so why not mix it up some?”

Ronon had turned to regard the redhead with approval. “Good idea.”

“Dibs on Lisa,” Eric snickered, ducking the half-hearted swing Laura aimed in his direction.

“And I’ll take Sheppard,” Ronon announced.

“Well, I guess I’ll take Carson then, since he knows you, Rodney, almost as well as Sheppard,” Laura added.

“So I get Leo?” Rodney asked before snorting. “Well then, all I need to do is put food out, and he’ll come to me.”

“Leo does not eat too much!” Eric protested. “You and Ronon both eat way more than he does!”

Rodney snickered at that and glanced at Ronon, who was looking as amused as he ever did. “Of course, Sgt. Markham, I believe you...

“Hey, Cadman—” He stopped speaking when he realized the female sentinel was already gone.

“She’s awfully eager to find the doc,” Eric observed, grinning. “I wonder if Lisa and the major should be worried.”

Ronon snorted. “No.”

“As if Carson would look at anyone twice,” Rodney sniffed, “and are you two coming, or are we going to let her crow at us for finding Carson before we even get near the others?”

“I’ll wrap Sheppard up in a bow for you,” Ronon said with a faint smirk before crouching down to look for marks of the guides’ passage.

“Keep your kinky games for you and Carson!” Rodney called back as the three of them fanned out, working their way across the field and toward the distant hills.

“Jealous?” Ronon retorted too softly for any but a sentinel to hear him, laughter also audible in his voice before he disappeared into the trees in search of John.

Rodney muttered a retort and began to work in earnest, ignoring John’s siren scent to search for clues as to the direction Leo had gone in as it was apparent that the guides had separated when they reached the cover of the trees.

~*~*~

Leo Stackhouse glanced at his watch, seeing that several hours had passed since he and the other guides had separated, hoping to throw their sentinels off their tracks. Leo had decided to take advantage of the lead to find a spot to conceal himself and go to ground, knowing that if he kept moving, Eric would eventually find a pattern to his movements and narrow the gap enough to be able to use his senses to find Leo.

So now it was a waiting game, and Leo was settled in to see how long it took his sentinel to track him. It was nearly dusk when he heard a quiet pop and felt something impact with his back.

A soft but acerbic voice spoke from the concealing shadows of the trees. “You’re lucky Ronon didn’t draw you or else you’d be on the ground in a pretzel.”

Leo turned and regarded Rodney McKay in surprise. “You’re not Eric.”

“And they said you Marines weren’t smart.” Rodney stood and walked out of the underbrush, smirking at Stackhouse’s surprise. “We thought it would be more interesting this way.”

“I’ll say. So who got Eric?” Leo asked curiously, getting to his feet and brushing himself off.

“Lindstrom,” Rodney chuckled, digging a powerbar out of his jacket and biting into it. “I hope she wasn’t planning on meeting Cadman stripped to the skin.”

Leo snickered. “If she does, they better never let the major find out about it.” He drank some water out of his canteen. “Huh, so that means Lt. Cadman’s after the doc and Ronon’s after the colonel? I don’t know which will be more surprised!”

“Cognitive skills, very impressive, sergeant. I will have to say that I bet John lasts longer than Carson does—or than you did.”

“If Ronon wasn’t the one after him, I’d say sucker bet, sir, but since he is...” Stackhouse shrugged. “We’ll see if the colonel upholds the honor of the US military.”

“I have every faith in him.” Rodney eyes the Marine sergeant a moment before his expression turned calculating. “So, want to see which of the others we can find?”

Leo’s eyes widened slightly before he gave Rodney an equally sly smile. “Dr. McKay, I like the way you think!”

~*~*~

Stilling as he heard the faint sounds of others up ahead, Rodney touched the Marine sergeant on the shoulder and nodded shallowly. Stackhouse jerked his head to the left and raised his eyebrows inquiringly, to which Rodney nodded again, a sharp jerk of his chin that was accompanied by a thin, feral smile.

The two men separated, moving almost soundlessly through the trees, circling the other two they heard up ahead, then moving in on them.

“I’d have thought two Marines would be harder to sneak up on,” Leo observed, shaking his head at his sentinel and Lisa Lindstrom. “It’s shameful.”

Lisa eyed him and Rodney. “And just how long did it take our scientist sentinel there to find you?” she retorted.

“How long it took me to find him doesn’t matter,” Rodney sniffed. “It doesn’t seem that you’ve been here long enough to start a fire and roast marshmallows.”

“True enough,” Eric replied easily. “Should we bother moving or just wait here for the colonel and Ronon to track us down?”

“What about Laura and Carson?” Lisa asked. “If we find them, we’d have the numbers to get Ronon and the colonel.”

“That sounds so wrong,” Rodney murmured.

“Don’t worry, Rodney,” Lisa said, grinning, “we’ll leave really getting the colonel to you.”

“Oh, ha ha,” he growled, glaring at her.

“So, off to find Laura and the doc?” Leo suggested quickly.

“You have no sense of adventure,” Lisa told him, trying not to laugh. “But sure, let’s go find my missing sentinel so I can remind her who she’s supposed to chase after.”

Eric snorted. “Oh, I’m pretty sure she’s clear on that, Lisa.”

“And if she somehow gets you and the doc confused, well, Ronon will set her straight,” Leo snickered as they started out, the two sentinels taking the lead.

“His loss,” Lisa retorted before falling silent, none of them wanting to give themselves away to the other sentinels and guides in the forest.

~*~*~

Carson sighed and rubbed the small of his back as he sat to one side of a small glen, wishing they could have a fire as it had gotten dark. “So, when are we supposed ta rendezvous with the others?” he asked Laura Cadman, who looked as if she was enjoying this outdoors experience much too much.

Laura chuckled. “Rendezvous? No such thing, doc. Now we hunt the others as they hunt us, and we see who wins.” Not that she had much doubt as to the outcome, considering what Ronon had survived in his life.

“I dinna remember hearing that in the instructions,” Carson mused even as he sighed and shouldered his pack, knowing that one way or another, it was going to be a long night.

“Do you honestly think that either the colonel or Ronon would just sit back and wait for the rest of us?” Laura demanded incredulously. “Or even Rodney? Competitive doesn’t begin to describe any of them.”

“I’d much rather we roasted marshmallows and had a sing-along,” Carson sighed as he followed Laura out of the glade, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

“I’m sure Ronon would love marshmallows,” Laura assured him softly, straining her senses for any sign of the others.

Carson smiled, but his expression seemed strained, and he looked around warily though he kept telling himself he had nothing to fear; the only other ones out there were their friends and teammates.

After a time, Laura drew closer to Carson and gestured for him to stop while she pretended to adjust his pack. “Doc, someone’s watching us, and I don’t think it’s any of our teams,” she said almost too softly to hear.

Carson’s eyes widened, and he swallowed thickly as he nodded, at the same time reaching for his pistol, assuring himself that he could easily reach it.

“If anything happens,” Laura continued, patting the pack and indicating that they should start moving again, “radio the others. I don’t like that they’re not coming forward.” She gradually moved to one side as they walked, positioning herself between Carson and where she thought their observers were.

Carson wanted to ask a million questions, but he remained quiet, swallowing them down as he moved forward, straining to hear and see anything out of the ordinary but knowing he had to rely on Laura’s senses to give them advance warning of what the others were doing.

“They’re drawing closer,” Laura murmured a short time later.

“Should we—” he began before yelping as he practically ran into Rodney McKay, the sentinel steadying him even as he gestured for quiet.

“That’s not the colonel and Ronon out there,” he murmured so only Laura could hear. “The others are trying to get around them.”

“Oh, thank God,” Laura breathed fervently. “I did _not_ want to explain to Ronon why I let his guide get a scratch on him!”

Rodney snorted out a near-silent laugh at that though his attention was on the woods around them as he tracked the two strangers who were out there.

“Who else is with you?” Laura asked quietly as the three of them continued to walk through the shadowy forest, with her and Rodney flanking Carson protectively.

“Lisa, Eric and Leo, and hopefully John and Ronon are closing in as well.” He struggled not to look back at a noise he heard and gripped his P90, ready to raise it at a moment’s notice.

“Hopefully? Oh, they haven’t rounded the rest of us up yet?” Laura nodded, most of her attention on the surrounding forest.

“No, we were hoping that with six of us we could get the —” Rodney’s head shot up, and he looked toward the left. “John’s here.”

“Oh, thank God,” Carson breathed, knowing that meant Ronon was near as well.

Despite knowing the capabilities of everyone already present, Laura felt a sense of relief at the arrival of the colonel. With him and Rodney there, things might get crazy, but it was almost guaranteed to work out. That was what they did.

“Then maybe,” she said, “we should stop walking and find out what they want.”

Rodney nodded, and the three of them turned as one, looking back into the darkness. There was a sudden crashing, and he glanced at Laura, giving a half-smile. “I believe the others have them.”

“Was there ever any doubt? Hell, all they needed was to have Ronon, Lisa and the colonel flash ‘em. They’d have to be dead for at least one of them not to appeal to them,” Laura teased.

“Leo and Eric are going to be hurt that you didn’t include them,” Carson murmured.

“Oh, come on, doc. They’re hot, but the other three are _hot_ ,” Laura retorted. “Actually, Lisa’d probably say I’m nuts for grouping her with the colonel and Ronon, but she’s as bad as the colonel for underestimating herself.”

“It’s a good thing I’m incapable of getting an inferiority complex,” Rodney said dryly as the others joined them, Ronon holding a black-haired woman who wouldn’t have looked out of place cast as an Amazon by her arms which were tied behind her back, and Leo and Eric doing the same to her equally large, blond companion.

Rodney registered this in a split second before concentrating on John, assuring himself that the other man was unharmed, and at that, a tightness in his gut eased.

“You know you’re a god,” John said, proving that he’d heard the conversation despite being distracted by helping capture the two strangers who had been stalking his people, thanks to the channel Laura had opened once Rodney had joined them.

“You and I are going to have a chat about you pimping me out,” Lisa informed her sentinel wryly, and John cast the redhead an amused glance.

“What right do you have to treat us so?” the woman demanded, her tanned skin flushed with exertion in the glow of the flashlights that were turned on for the benefit of the guides.

“Why were you following my people?” John asked rather than answering, moving until he was standing next to Rodney.

“Why were you sneaking around here?” the man shot back, observing all of them carefully.

“We weren’t sneaking; we were training,” Rodney cut in. “ _You_ two were following us.”

“You’re strangers _sneaking_ around on our world. For all we know, you could be Wraith worshippers here to destroy everyone,” the woman retorted.

“Good thing Teyla’s not here,” Lisa muttered to Laura, and they both looked surprised then speculative when the dark-haired woman’s eyes shot to Lisa.

The other two women caught the move, and Laura’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I think we should just shoot them,” she said so low that only another sentinel could hear her. Rodney’s eyes widened, and the strange woman stepped protectively in front of her partner.

“Aha!” Lisa exclaimed, drawing all eyes. “She’s a sentinel, sir,” she said in response to her CO’s interrogatively raised eyebrow.

“You said you were from this planet?” Carson asked, trying to diffuse some of the tension in the group.

“Yes, the rest of our village moved deeper into the forest after the Wraith nearly destroyed us, but Sarin and I didn’t want to leave our home,” the brunette replied, her shoulders slumping slightly.

Ronon snorted. “The only village on this planet was a _city_ a half day’s march from the gate, and it was destroyed when my grandfather was a boy.”

“Care to try again?” John suggested cheerfully but with hard eyes.

The blond, Sarin, rested a hand on his partner’s shoulder and smiled easily. “Forgive us for being mistrustful; it comes with our lives. We were here hoping to scavenge food and things to trade to support ourselves. Our village _was_ culled by the Wraith, but that was on another world, and we were lucky to survive.” His fingers tightened on his sentinel’s shoulder as he spoke.

John regarded them steadily. “Quite the coincidence that we all ended up here at the same time,” he observed. “But then, odd things seem to happen all the time.” Something about these two was triggering all his alarms, but aside from Ronon, the still unnamed brunette was the first sentinel they’d met in this galaxy, where the much smaller and diffuse population made them rare.

“Just where are you from?” Rodney asked, studying them through narrowed eyes.

“Muriah,” Sarin replied, naming an ancient world that had been culled nearly to extinction several times in its history.

When Ronon shrugged slightly in response to that answer, the others relaxed slightly though they still looked watchful.

“So you’re Sarin and you are...” Rodney commented, looking at the woman, who raised her sharp chin and looked at him haughtily.

“Kares. It would be polite to introduce yourselves as well.”

John snickered. “Rodney doesn’t do polite,” he told her before quickly introducing the eight of them, leaving out the detail that they were all sentinel-guide pairs.

“You know why we’re here, what about you?”

“Training mission,” John replied. “We needed to get used to working as a team.”

“Against the Wraith?”

“We prefer not to fight ourselves.”

Sarin chuckled at that. “It’s good to know that others are out there trying to battle them.”

“There are a lot of people fighting them,” John said, “in a lot of different ways. And we’re always happy for new allies.”

“If that’s what you are,” Rodney interjected wryly, making John glance over at him.

“Obviously,” he murmured, not bothering to try to keep it inaudible since he knew that all the other sentinels would also be able to hear anything he tried to say privately to Rodney.

Carson looked around the small group and pressed his lips together at the tension in the air. “So what do we do now? Stand here and stare at each other all night?” he asked, trying to ease the situation.

“Well, at least the view’s worth the time,” Kares said, smirking at the men in a way that had Lisa’s eyes narrowing.

“This isn’t a breeding opportunity!” Rodney huffed, moving in front of John.

“Everyone here is taken,” John put in, a hand on Rodney’s waist.

“As are we,” Sarin said quickly.

“Do both of them know that?” Lisa muttered to Laura, knowing full well that Kares could hear her.

“If not, they will soon.”

Ignoring the byplay, John regarded the strangers. This was the first sentinel-guide pair they’d encountered in Pegasus, and he knew the medical team in Atlantis would love to get their hands on them, but he wasn’t comfortable bringing them back to the city. Something about the couple had his instincts screaming.

“Maybe we should all go to Crossroads,” he suggested, giving the planet the name visitors used. “There’s a great pub there where we can get food and drink and get to know each other.”

“That’s a lovely idea,” Carson said quickly.

“And it gets us off this god-forsaken rock,” Rodney nodded.

“Right. Cadman, you, Lindstrom, Stackhouse and Bates head back to base, and let Elizabeth know that we completed the training session and what’s going on. I’ll check in with her in two hours.”

“Yessir,” Laura said before the four of them double-timed it back to the gate so they could dial out, out of sight of the strangers.

“Okay,” John said, “let’s go get that meal. I know I could use one, and I’m pretty sure I’m overdue in feeding my sentinel,” he added teasingly.

“Oh, ha ha,” Rodney grumbled, still watching the newcomers warily as they headed to the gate at a slower pace than the four Marines.

“See, you’re grouchy. That’s a sure sign that you need to eat,” John observed cheerfully.

“He has a point,” Ronon put in.

“You listen to your own guide, not mine!” Rodney snapped.

“Rodney, he’s not trying to steal me,” John said patiently.

“You have very strange relationships,” Kares observed.

“Rodney and John are a special case in any world,” Carson chuckled, patting the other guide on the shoulder.

“To know us is to marvel at us,” John said, grinning.

Ronon snorted at that, and Sarin cocked an eyebrow at Kares at that though he only grinned back at her.

When they reached the gate, John stood back watching the strangers as Rodney dialed the gate, and then they all walked through, Rodney and John in the lead, followed by Sarin and Kares, with Carson and Ronon bringing up the rear.

“Have you been here before?” John asked Sarin.

“I don’t believe so,” she said after a moment of studying the small village before them. “Do you do much trading here?”

“Some, but there’s not much here that’s of use to us. We mainly like it for the ale,” John admitted.

Kares grinned at that. “Ale is fine with me.”

Sarin rolled her eyes. “It always is.”

~*~*~

The time at the village, their meals, and the tankards of ale that followed, passed uneventfully, though neither side provided much in the way of hard information.

Rodney tapped his foot against the floor, knowing both Ronon and Kares could hear the slight noise, but past the point of caring, just wanting to go home at that point. John shifted closer to him, resting a hand on Rodney’s thigh in an attempt to relax him.

“If you’re interested in trading, we could meet here,” John suggested to the other couple.

“How do we get in touch with you?” Kares asked, smiling blearily at them all, clearly having had one too many ales.

“We can come meet you at certain times,” John offered, not about to give them Atlantis’ gate address.

“What certain times?”

All of the Atlanteans eyed him askance. “Once a month, maybe,” John said, curious to see if they’d push harder.

Sarin glanced over at Kares, a second of unspoken communication between them. “A specific time would be helpful. We can’t just sit here for days at a time; Kares would drink the place dry.”

John chuckled, knowing that Ronon was watching them closely. “We’ll have to set up a schedule. First meeting in fifteen days?”

“Fifteen days,” Sarin nodded. “Now, I believe I should find my partner a bed before she decorates this table with her face.”

Ronon got to his feet almost before she finished speaking. “A specialist should know how to hold their drink,” he said, clearly unimpressed by the other pair.

“We’ll see you in fifteen days,” John said by way of farewell, waiting for Rodney to precede him to the door, the sentinel stubbornly waiting for him to do the same before Carson sighed and pushed them both ahead of himself and Ronon, knowing that if he didn’t, they could be there even longer.

They all remained silent until they were out of hearing range of the other sentinel, and even then John glanced questioningly at Rodney, waiting until he nodded before speaking. “So, what did you think of them?”

“They’re lying about something,” Ronon growled.

“Well, duh!” Rodney snorted. “Even John and Carson could tell that—no offense,” he added quickly.

“None taken,” John replied dryly with an amused eyeroll at Carson, who chuckled.

“None at all.”

“The question is whether it’s something major or not,” John continued. “It could just be a case of self-preservation, or it could be something that’s going to come back to bite us in the ass.”

“Wanna bet what my vote is?” Rodney sighed. “I say we blow off the meeting. If they can’t contact us, they can’t do whatever nefarious deeds they have planned.”

“But they’re the first sentinel-guide pair we’ve met in this galaxy,” John pointed out.

“There are others,” Ronon said, “and I agree with McKay; these two are more trouble than they’re worth.”

Rodney blinked, surprised at having the other sentinel agree with him on _anything_ , and Carson nodded slowly. “They worry me. I dinna think Kares was as drunk as she seemed ta be. We should talk it over with Elizabeth.”

With that decided, they headed back to Atlantis.

~*~*~

“Rodney!” John’s voice grew increasingly frantic with each repetition of his sentinel’s name. The mental inquisition conducted by the Asurans had been even harder on the sentinels than on the others, their heightened senses thrown awry by the overload.

“John? Can’t focus...” Rodney slurred, blinking owlishly and swaying as he tried to sit up.

“Get him ta concentrate on you,” Carson ordered as he tried to do the same with Ronon and Teyla, and Elizabeth looked on in concern, both alert for the arrival of more replicators.

“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” John snarled, his usual easy-going persona long lost under his concern for his husband. “Rodney? It’s okay. It was the fucking Asurans—they messed with your head, with all our heads—but it’s okay now. You’re fine. Tell me you’re fine.”

“Don’ yell at Carson, jus’ trying to help,” Rodney muttered, managing to open his eyes fully and focus on John’s face. “You don’ look good.”

“Yeah, well, they made me think we’d escaped back to Atlantis and then the Wraith destroyed the city, so I’m not really happy at the moment. We’re pretty sure this is real now though.”

“It is,” Niam interjected from outside their cell, the Asuran who’d seemed friendly to them moving closer and then opened the cell door.

Ronon jerked around at the sound of his voice and lunged at him, sending Carson staggering back before the physician lunged to get a hand on his sentinel again. “Ronon, no!”

Elizabeth quickly moved between the enraged Satedan and the Asuran, her eyes probing Niam’s. “And why should we believe you?”

“Not all of us agree with Oberoth’s actions,” Niam replied. “I believe that Ascension should be our goal, and destroying Atlantis will not help us along that path.” He looked over her shoulder at Rodney. “We need your help, Dr. McKay. I want you to rewrite our base code, removing aggression from our programming.”

“I feel like I just came off a three-keg bender, and you want me to rewrite your base code?” Rodney squawked, leaning against John as he tried to turn to face the Asuran.

“If you don’t, Atlantis will be destroyed.”

“What?” John exclaimed.

“This city is on its way to Atlantis now; once we reach your city, Oberoth will order its destruction.”

“Of course,” John groaned, “this city is fully powered. You can fly.”

“Yes.”

“Well fuck,” Rodney groaned. “All right, get me somewhere I can work, and I’ll do it.”

John looked at him, torn between protesting that Rodney wasn’t up to it and knowing that he had to. “How are we going to get out of the city? We can’t dial out, not when it’s in transit.”

Niam nodded. “You can use one of our ships, the ones you call jumpers, once we’re close enough.” He gestured for them to leave the cell, and after a moment they did, following him down a hallway.

He led them to a secondary control room, and Rodney leaned on the console, breathing heavily as he tried to focus his senses.

“Take it slow, Rodney,” John murmured, clearly not giving damn about anything but his sentinel.

“Right, sure, all the time in the world,” he mumbled, trying to focus on the readouts before him.

“How many feel as you do?” Elizabeth asked, looking at Niam.

“Many of us, though not the majority,” Niam admitted. “But enough that we’re a significant movement. And if you can change our base code, we _will_ be the majority.”

Rodney rubbed at his forehead and took a deep breath, breathing in John’s minty scent, the familiar smell centering him. “Okay, okay, I can do this.” Still muttering to himself, he began to work, focusing on the data before him and not the morass of his own senses.

John remained close, leaving it to Ronon and Teyla to guard them, Carson and Elizabeth. Right now Rodney needed him as a guide more than the others needed him as the colonel. He rested his hands on Rodney’s shoulders, trying to help ground him.

Some time later, Rodney looked up and rubbed his forehead. “Anyone have anything to eat?” he asked plaintively, and John immediately pulled a Power Bar and an MRE out of his vest pocket.

“Which do you want?”

“My hero,” Rodney mumbled as he grabbed the Power Bar and ripped open the wrapper before gobbling it down. “And I think it’s done.”

“My hero,” John replied, grinning briefly. “Okay, do it then,” he said, hoping Rodney had done what he expected.

Rodney glanced over at Niam, then pressed a sequence of buttons. “Done. Now we have five minutes to get to the jumper.”

“Before what?” Carson asked, looking away from Ronon.

“Before this part of the city blows up.”

“What?” Niam exclaimed, looking horrified. “That’s not what I asked you to do!”

“Did you really think we were going to leave this city to continue on to destroy Atlantis?” Elizabeth asked, showing that all the Atlanteans had been aware of what Rodney would do. “You are welcome to come with us, Niam.”

“But with or without you, we’re leaving _now_ ,” John interjected. “The others are disabled, Rodney?”

The sentinel nodded jerkily. “We need to go now, I don’t know how long it’s going to last.”

“So let’s go,” Ronon growled, clearly ready to leave the city.

“Sounds like a plan,” John agreed, moving toward the door, knowing the others would follow and Ronon would bring up the rear to guard them. They reached the jumper and piled inside, John taking the controls and getting them in the air, clearing the space-born city just before it blew.

“Just once, couldn’t we meet someone friendly?” John sighed. “No offense,” he added, looking over at Niam and frowning when he saw the way the Asuran was sitting, his gaze distant as if he was looking at something far away.

“The others know what I’ve done,” Niam said just before he grabbed Elizabeth by the throat.

Everyone yelled and converged on them, managed to wrest Elizabeth free and push Niam into the rear of the compartment. As soon as they did, John shut the bulkhead doors between the compartments and opened the rear door, watching as Niam’s eyes widened in dismay the instant before he was sucked into the vacuum of space as the rear compartment vented.

“Elizabeth?” Rodney croaked, looking over at her.

“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “Let’s get home.”

John glanced over at her, and the jumper sped up in response to his wish to get them all home quickly. “It should only be a few minutes,” he said. “The city had almost reached Atlantis.”

“Too close,” Rodney murmured.

“But you stopped them,” John reminded him, reaching over to squeeze Rodney’s hand, the sentinel taking a deep breath and leaning into his touch in response.

“And now we know they are out there,” Teyla said firmly. “We can prepare.”

“And they know we’re here too,” Elizabeth murmured, her eyes on the viewscreen even though Niam was out of sight.

~*~*~

“Okay, can we never have that done to us again,” Rodney groaned when he and John reached their room and he flopped down onto their bed. “Because really? It sucked.”

“I can get behind that plan,” John agreed, nudging Rodney over so he could stretch out beside him. “Mental torture, false memories implanted in my mind, you unconscious, and the city nearly being destroyed are all things I can live without.”

“I felt like I had no control, like I was trapped in my senses like I was before.” Rodney reached over and hitched his hand over John’s hip, pulling him closer.

John shuddered and wrapped himself around Rodney. “I felt helpless; I couldn’t help you. I wanted to kill them for that.”

“I know how you felt. I was trapped, couldn’t get to you, couldn’t do anything except answer their damn questions.” As he spoke, Rodney buried his face in John’s hair and tightened his arms around him.

“We need to stop visiting the neighbors,” John muttered, holding Rodney just as tightly. “It never turns out well.”

“Staying here versus going out and getting our asses shot at? Works for me.”

John chuckled wryly. “And within a week, we’d both be going stir crazy, wanting to get out there looking for technology or whatever else,” he pointed out. “But I think we can take a day or two for ourselves after everything that’s happened and hide in our room.”

“We need to tell everyone else to do the same thing; Lorne can be in charge.”

“Let’s just hope Elizabeth doesn’t insist that we all see Heightmeyer.”

Rodney stiffened at the suggestion. “No.”

“We’ll get out of it if she tries,” John assured him. “Sentinel-guide privilege.”

Rodney nodded, sighing and relaxing minutely when the move pressed his face against John’s hair. “Better than any therapy,” he murmured.

“I aim to please. Just don’t call me Teddy.”

“Teddy?”

“The Marines will never respect me again if they think I’m a teddy bear.”

“Then I’ll kick their asses until they respect you again,” Rodney promised.

John snickered. “No terrorizing my Marines, Rodney. You have enough minions in the labs.”

“There are never enough minions.” As he spoke, Rodney’s hands were moving over John’s back and sides, assuring himself that the other man was whole and safe.

“You’re being greedy. Content yourself with your science staff... and me.”

“First,” Rodney murmured.

“Good answer.” John kissed him, and Rodney sighed into his mouth, one hand sliding up to tangle in his hair. John rolled them over so that he was sprawled on top of Rodney and deepened the kiss, almost frantic to taste Rodney and prove to himself that they were both home safely.

“Hate it when they try to kill you,” Rodney gasped, pushing John’s shirt and jacket up and out of the way so that he could drag his hands over his back.

“I don’t like it much myself,” John replied. “And I really don’t like it when they try to kill you. I’m glad you blew up their city. Too bad it wasn’t their whole damn planet.”

“And all of them with it. Fucking replicators, bad enough we had to deal with them back on Earth, but here too?”

“Yeah, how weird is that?” John grumbled. “And from the reports I read, the ones in the Milky Way and the Asgard galaxy were developed completely independently of the ones here. Apparently stupidity has to be repeated across the universe.”

“Fucking Ancients.”

“Well, they can only be blamed for the fucked up mess they left in this galaxy,” John pointed out. “Someone else managed it in ours.”

“So they say,” Rodney mumbled, nuzzling John’s jawline. “Maybe they lied.”

“They kind of had proof,” John said, not paying much attention to the conversation as he let his head fall to the side, encouraging Rodney to continue his explorations.

“Who are you going to believe? Them or me?” Rodney punctuated this with a sharp nip.

“You of course,” John moaned, squirming slightly atop him.

Rodney sighed in pleasure at both the admission and John’s movements, and he hooked a leg over his guide’s hip, holding him in place so they could rock together. John groaned his approval of Rodney’s actions and pressed down harder, making them both gasp as their growing erections aligned perfectly.

“So good,” Rodney whispered, letting his senses all center on John’s reactions, becoming lost in them.

“We always are,” John agreed before taking his mouth again, Rodney’s hand tightening on him as he bucked upward, the pressure of their erections and the rough press of their clothes between them provided more friction, egging him on. “God, you feel so fucking good,” he groaned, the words muffled against Rodney’s mouth but still intelligible.

Rodney’s answer was a muffled grunt as he bit at John’s jaw, working back to his ear and sucking on the lobe, his whole body spasming as the familiar salty taste filled his mouth.

Rodney’s shudders made John groan harshly, a hand pushing under Rodney’s shirt to pinch a hard nipple as they rocked together, the pressure driving Rodney over the edge, his whole body arching up under John’s as he came. John gasped, his eyes widening as he drank in the sight of Rodney in the throes of his climax, and then he was coming as well, pressing down against Rodney.

“All messy,” Rodney murmured, blinking as the day’s events caught up with him, threatening to send him to sleep.

“I like messy,” John mumbled, but he rolled to his feet and stripped before going into the bathroom to clean up. He came back out with a wet cloth for Rodney.

“Should be taking care of you,” Rodney protested in a slurred mumble as he struggled out of his clothes and cleaned off, tossing the cloth aside then grabbing John and pulling him into bed.

“Shh. I like taking care of you, so let me. And right now, all we have to do is sleep.” John settled back against Rodney, tucking his head under the sentinel’s chin.

~*~*~

“What do you mean ‘Col. Sheppard is gone?’” Rodney’s voice was colder than absolute zero as he confronted the returned Marines, “Where has Col. Sheppard gone? And after you tell me, you will take me there so I can use my massive knowledge of physics to blow the entire place to microscopic bits!” His voice had been rising during his tirade until the whole control room was well aware of what he thought of them, their IQs, and their breeding.

“We were taking fire, sir,” ventured the hapless lieutenant who had to face his CO’s murderous husband by virtue of being the senior member of the gate team who had lost said commanding officer. “Col. Sheppard ordered us to dial the gate and get through. He was right behind us when the wormhole engaged, but he never came through.”

“You all came through, and he didn’t.” Rodney’s voice lowered to a vicious hiss. “Well, I suggest you go back through that fucking gate, do your job right, and find my husband!!!”

Lorne and Elizabeth watched silently, part of them sympathizing with the Marines but part in total agreement with Rodney’s sentiments. The Marines looked terrified, and Ronon looming behind Rodney, a hand on his gun, clearly wasn’t doing anything for their peace of mind.

“Offworld activation,” Chuck suddenly announced, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Is it...” Elizabeth started, but the sergeant shook his head.

“There’s no IDC signal. But there’s a video transmission, ma’am.”

“Answer it, and leave the shield up,” Elizabeth ordered.

Torn between his continued reaming of the Marines and the incoming information, Rodney left them with a final spate of vitriol and a glare before walking over to the comm console. “Where’s the signal coming from?”

“Unknown, sir.”

Everyone inhaled in shock as the video came up on the screen, showing them Sora, John tied to a chair, and a chained Wraith being held back by guards in Genii uniforms.

“Genii.” Rodney’s tone was flat and dry as a glacier. He turned and held out a hand to Ronon. “Give me your gun.”

Ronon handed it over but commented, “Where do we look for them?”

“Dr. Weir, Dr. McKay, Teyla Emmagan, I hope at least the three of you are here to witness this. We want Ladon Radim. You will bring him to us, or Col. Sheppard will die. Slowly. In front of you.” She made a hand motion to the side of the screen, and the feed cut off.

“Genii,” Rodney growled, his voice going dark and chill. “They’re all going to die.”

“We need to get Ladon here,” Elizabeth said. “Maj. Lorne, please go explain the situation to him and bring him back to Atlantis.”

“We’re going to trade him?” Teyla asked, sounding shocked.

“Of course not,” Elizabeth replied. “We don’t negotiate with terrorists. But Ladon may be able to tell us where to find Sora... and John.”

“Or he can be traded.”

“Rodney!”

“He’s right,” Ronon said. “Sheppard’s ours. The Genii isn’t and has tried to screw us over in the past. Why not?”

“We will not condone in terrorism,” Elizabeth said firmly. “Right now, Rodney I want you working on a way of determining where they are dialing in from. Ronon and Teyla, meet with Lorne and pick two strike teams for when we’re ready to go in.”

“I would like to go with Maj. Lorne to the Genii homeworld,” Teyla said. “I may be of assistance in convincing Ladon to return to Atlantis.”

“I’d be pleased to have you, ma’am,” Lorne agreed. “Cadman can start putting the team together while we’re away,” he added to Elizabeth, who nodded her agreement.

“Hurry, Major,” Elizabeth urged. “We don’t have much time.”

~*~*~

“Ladon, thank you for coming,” Elizabeth greeted.

“When your major and Teyla told me what had happened, how could I not? I’ve brought a list of worlds where Sora has allies.” He offered the information to her.

Rodney snatched the list from his hand, scanning down the list though his hearing was centered on the Genii leader as he listened for changes in his breathing or heartrate.

“How do we know you’re not behind this?” Ronon demanded, glaring at the Genii leader. “It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve pretended to be the opposite side from someone and had some of our people kidnapped.”

“Ronon, he is here as our guest,” Elizabeth snapped.

“I’d rather have Sheppard here.”

“And you think I wouldn’t?” Rodney growled, rounding on the other sentinel. “If he has information, killing him will not get it!”

Ronon held up his hands and moved back. “I was thinking more of trading him, but it’s your call. He’s yours.”

Rodney glared at him through narrowed eyes before turning back to Ladon. “Well?” he demanded.

“Sora is carrying on where Kolya left off,” Ladon replied. “She still blames your people for her father’s death and for Commander Kolya’s as well. And she wants to overthrow my government because I’m not trying to kill you all.”

“Where is she?” Rodney snarled.

“If I knew that, I would already have dealt with her,” Ladon replied, the affable expression dropping away. “But I do have some leads, some rumors that my agents have heard. It will give you a starting point.”

Rodney nodded tightly, and Elizabeth rested a hand on his arm, trying to calm him. “We’ll find him.”

“Damned right we will.”

Ladon watched him almost pityingly. “I think I’m glad this type of bond is unknown amongst my people.”

“Then you’re a fool,” Ronon growled.

~*~*~

John watched the Wraith in the next cell, noticing that he remained still, apparently conserving energy. After a little while of silent staring—John mused that at least neither of them was peeing to mark his territory—the colonel spoke up.

“I think I’ll call you Todd.”

“Why do you feel the need to name everything?” came the growled back response.

“It seems friendlier than ‘hey you’.” The smirk John wore was one that many of his commanding officers over the years had become familiar with, much to their aggravation.

The Wraith lifted his head to look at John, his cat-slit pupils wide in the dim light of the cell. “You humans also have the need to ‘make friends’.”

“It makes interacting easier,” John pointed out. “But I’m not exactly planning to add you to my Christmas card list.”

“You won’t live long enough to fulfil any list you have.”

John looked away, not responding as his thoughts went to Rodney. He didn’t want to die, but his biggest regret was leaving his sentinel behind. They’d waited so long to find each other, and now Rodney was going to be devastated.

“You do know what’s going to happen, don’t you?” the Wraith said when he didn’t speak again.

“I’ve seen what’s left after a Wraith feeds if that’s what you mean,” John finally replied, his hazel eyes muddy with unhappiness as he looked over at his fellow prisoner. “And I know perfectly well that’s what Sora has planned for me.”

“If your people give her what she wants, perhaps not.”

John snorted. “I didn’t know Wraith could be gullible.”

“I said perhaps,” the Wraith replied dryly.

“Ah, I see. You thought _I_ was that gullible.”

“It is a possibility.”

“Not so much.” John eyed him. “And do you really believe she’s going to let you go when she’s done with me?”

“I have been trapped here for longer than just your arrival. I am never allowed to feed enough to get my full strength back, so no, I do not believe that will happen.”

“So how ‘bout we work together and get us both out of here?” John suggested, watching the Wraith carefully.

“Do you realize what that will require?”

“I don’t really see how trusting you can leave me any worse off,” John replied with a shrug. “I’m already screwed.”

Whatever the Wraith was about to say was cut off when the outer door to the cell area clanged open and guards appeared, dragging them off to the main room where Sora had a camera set up to record what was to come.

John looked at the camera and frowned very slightly, knowing that it couldn’t lead to anything good. “You really should consider a good therapist,” he told the redheaded Genii woman.

“Get him in the chair,” she barked, waiting until he was secured before nodding at the person manning the camera. “Begin.”

Other guards led the chained Wraith in, holding guns on him while one of them removed the manacles from one wrist while a forth ripped John’s shirt open down the front.

“Don’t do this!” Elizabeth exclaimed from Atlantis, everyone stunned with the horror of what they were seeing in Sora’s communication.

“Don’t give her anything!” John yelled, looking straight at the recording device. “Don’t do it!”

“John! John!!!” Rodney screamed over the connection as the Wraith dug his hand into John’s chest and began to feed.

Even through his pain, that cry registered with John, and he forced his gaze to the camera. “Rodney.” His lips shaped the word even if he had no breath to spare to speak it.

“We do not bargain with terrorists,” Elizabeth said, her voice cold and hard before she cut the connection.

Ladon regarded her with surprise. “Sora was trained by Commander Kolya. She will do what she threatens.”

Elizabeth was distracted the sound of several voices calling Rodney’s name, and she turned to find all of the guides in the room, which was every one of them in Atlantis, converging on him.

“She won’t kill him,” she replied tightly, praying that it was true.

“Of course she will,” Ladon responded bluntly. “Soldiers trained by Kolya rarely bluff. And I don’t think she’s quite sane.”

“Would you shut up!” Lisa Lindstrom hissed, turning on him with rage in her blue eyes. “Rodney may be zoned out at the moment, but this is _not_ what he needs to hear!”

“Killing Col. Sheppard leaves her nothing to bargain with,” Carson added even as he got Rodney to swallow several pills, nodding as Leo Stackhouse talked to him soothingly.

“And not doing it weakens her position in any future bargains since no one would believe she would carry through on her threats if she doesn’t this time,” Ladon countered despite the glares he was getting.

Elizabeth looked away, pain clear in her eyes before she veiled her expression. Her position was the most difficult. Like everyone else, she wanted to do anything she could to bring their friend home, but as the person in charge, she had to adhere to policy of never negotiating with terrorists... and moreover, she agreed with it. It was just hard to apply logic and future good against the life of someone so personally important to her.

“Ma’am, teams will be ready to head through the gate in five to the locations where Sora might be,” Lorne said, looking like he wanted to kill something.

“Go,” was all Elizabeth said.

~*~*~

“Your... friends were highly disturbed,” Todd commented when John regained consciousness.

“I wasn’t too happy myself,” John replied, holding up a wrinkled hand to regard it with distant curiosity.

“Nor I.” The Wraith was silent a moment before speaking again. “I begin to see the... merit in your earlier suggestion.”

John eyed him. “Enough to try it?”

“The time will have to be right.”

“You may have noticed that I don’t have a whole hell of a lot of time left.”

“You will survive several more feedings; they will ensure it.”

John stared at him. “Is that supposed to be comforting? ‘Cause I gotta tell you, from where I’m sitting, it’s not!”

“You will be alive; is not that what you want?”

“I’d kind of prefer not to be drained to an old man,” John snapped. “But yeah, it’s still better than the alternative. I think.” If only because it meant he wouldn’t be leaving Rodney alone.

“Once I have my strength back...” Todd murmured.

“Well, don’t look at me!”

“True,” the Wraith mused, falling silent to mull over their situation.

“So if I make a move, you’ll follow?”

The Wraith grunted and nodded.

~*~*~

“We’ll never make it through the gate,” John said, lying on his belly in the woods and observing the Genii troops surrounding the stargate. “They’ll cut us down before we reach the DHD, let alone dial. And... Shit!”

He scrabbled backward, trying to stay low though it was difficult in the frail, aching, old body in which he found himself. “Patrols are heading out, presumably to find us,” he hissed.

“We need to lower their numbers.”

John cast Todd a wry glance. “I don’t think I’d be much of a threat to an eighty-year-old granny right now. But you fed on those guards... you should be able to do some damage.”

The Wraith made a noise that might have been agreement before he whirled, his hand biting into John’s chest as he drew life and strength from him. Leaving him alive, he darted away, screams marking his progress through the woods.

John lay in a heap, unable to move, barely clinging to life. He mused that Rodney was going to kill him for being dumb enough to trust a Wraith... though at least it was some comfort that the Wraith was taking the Genii out. He took a perverse pleasure in the sounds of their screams, something he’d never thought he would do, but these were the people who’d _fed_ him to a Wraith. They were definitely reaping what they’d sowed.

The Wraith appeared out of nowhere, his slit eyes narrowed as he studied John lying there. “You should know that the way to the gate is clear. I could leave you here, but... I feel we share something.”

John just stared back, wondering why he was waiting. “At least I know my killers died too.”

“They did not kill you,” the Wraith stated before pressing his hand against John’s chest again, his nails biting into the desiccated flesh, pumping life back into John’s body.

Able to feel his body growing stronger, John lay still, tense as he fought his instinct to pull away. A noise made his head jerk around, and he yelled, “No!” in time to prevent Ronon shooting the Wraith.

“It’s draining you!” Ronon snarled, then he frowned. “You looked older in the transmission the Genii bitch sent.”

“I was.” John barely paid attention to the conversation, his attention focused on Rodney.

“Get away from him.” Rodney’s voice was an animalistic growl, and, the moment the Wraith backed away, he took Ronon’s gun and shot it.

“Rodney, stop,” John exclaimed, springing to his feet and reaching a hand out to Rodney. “I’m okay. We worked together to escape. He could have killed me any time and didn’t. I’m fine,” he repeated.

Another bolt of energy speared into the unconscious Wraith before the gun fell to the ground and Rodney bolted across the distance between them to pull John into a tight embrace. John wrapped his arms around Rodney as well, holding him close and letting Rodney’s senses absorb his presence.

“I’m right here,” he whispered.

“You were—I thought—“ Rodney rasped before pulling back, his brow furrowed. “You smell different. What did that fucking thing do to you?”

John frowned, trying to sniff himself. “He drained me almost to death, then gave it all back after he used the energy to kill the Genii. I didn’t know they could do that,” he added almost soundlessly, looking over at the Wraith. “And what do you mean, I smell different?” he demanded, suddenly afraid that Rodney would be repulsed by whatever had changed.

“Just—different.” Rodney’s frown deepened though he kept his arms around John’s waist.

“Can we kill it now?” Ronon asked.

“No,” John said, looking over Rodney’s shoulder at their teammate. “We had a deal. I’ll take him through the gate to another planet and let him go.”

“The fuck you are!” Rodney exclaimed. “Let someone else take it!”

“I made a deal with him,” John repeated. “It won’t take us long, Rodney. We take him through, wait till he wakes up, and leave.” While he was aware that having Rodney and the Wraith in the same place was far from an ideal situation, he knew equally well that he couldn’t go without Rodney, not after everything that had happened.

“No,” Rodney said flatly. “We take him somewhere other Wraith will find him—and I want an explanation as to why and how he saved you—and leave him; we are _not_ staying around, waiting for him to wake up and decide he wants seconds at the John Sheppard buffet!”

“He gave back everything he took from me, Rodney,” John pointed out. “I didn’t even know they could do that; he was under no obligation to do it.”

Rodney’s nostrils flared, then twitched, and he slowly unclenched his jaw. “Fine, let’s just get him out of here and you back home so Carson can check you over.”

“There’s nothing I want more,” John admitted. “For a while there... Well, it didn’t happen.”

“I know.” Rodney took another deep breath, and his complexion turned a shade paler. “Can we talk about this later? We need to get rid of it.”

Watching Rodney’s reactions, John frowned and tried to sniff at himself without being obvious. “I probably need a shower too.”

Rodney’s eyebrows drew together in a frown, and he nodded slowly. “Yes, I’m sure you want to get clean, _after_ Carson checks you out.”

“You two may want to stop talking and get moving before he wakes up,” Ronon commented laconically.

“Good point,” John said, regarding the Wraith with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Ronon studied him for a long moment before handing Rodney his gun and hefting the unconscious Wraith to his shoulder.

“If he moves, shoot him,” he said flatly, to which Rodney nodded, the large energy weapon held steadily in his grip. That done, he started toward the gate, the others quickly following.

John held tightly to Rodney’s hand as they walked, and he constantly darted quick glances at the sentinel’s face. Rodney’s stare was fixed on Ronon and the Wraith on his shoulder though all of his senses were tuned to their surroundings, and his hand was clamped tightly on John’s.

“We’ll be back home soon,” John murmured to him, hardly able to believe it was true.

~*~*~

“I can’t believe that Carson wanted to keep you overnight for observation!” Rodney huffed as they finally entered their room many hours later. “As if I can’t observe you myself!”

“I don’t think he thinks you’ll be observing the same things,” John said, trying not to laugh at Rodney’s indignation. The colonel was almost positive that the only reason he wasn’t in the infirmary was Carson’s unwillingness to listen to Rodney any longer. “And don’t you think threatening the poor man might have been a bit much?”

The color rose in Rodney’s cheeks as his already strained temper flared. “Are you saying you’d _rather_ stay there?”

“Of course not,” John said soothingly, trying to calm his frazzled sentinel, who he could see was in no mood for teasing. “You know I’d never rather be anywhere but here with you.”

A strangled sound emerged from Rodney’s throat, and he grabbed John, pulling him into a crushing embrace. “I thought... I saw... You were...”

John nodded, holding Rodney just as tightly. “I thought so too,” he admitted, burying his face in Rodney’s throat and inhaling the familiar scent of him.

“I’m going to find Sora and rip her into pieces,” Rodney growled against John’s shoulder.

“I’ll help you!” Remembered frustration and rage filled John’s voice, and his entire body tensed in Rodney’s embrace.

“You aren’t going near her again!” Rodney’s arms tightened on John’s body, and his breath rushed in and out of his lungs as he tried to ground himself, to block out the memories of how John had looked.

Frowning slightly, John wrapped himself around Rodney. “Forget about her; concentrate on me. I’m right here, Rodney.”

“I know, I know.” Rodney moved as if to bury his face against John’s shoulder but stopped midway and rested his chin there instead. “I just—right. Do you need anything else to eat?”

“No, what I really want is a shower,” John said. “And someone to scrub my back?” he added hopefully.

Rodney’s hands were already pulling at his shirt, stripping them both with brisk efficiency and catching John’s hand, leading him into the bathroom, refusing to let go of him even as he turned the water on and they stepped under the spray.

Finally completely alone with no one to see him except Rodney, John finally let go of his control. A choked cry ripped itself from deep inside him, and he buried his face in Rodney’s shoulder, shaking as he clung to the sentinel, only Rodney’s firm grip holding him up, and if the water on his face wasn’t all from the shower, no one else would ever know. For once Rodney stayed quiet, simply holding John, one hand stroking his back and the other his hair, waiting out the storm of his emotions.

Minutes passed and slowly John calmed, the tremors stopping though he still clung to Rodney. “I really thought this was it,” he said suddenly against Rodney’s throat, not yet lifting his head. “I thought I was going to die there.”

“And all I could do was watch,” Rodney whispered. “But you’re here, you’re safe.”

“I wish we could just stay here forever.” Even John knew that wasn’t true, that within days he’d be itching to get back to work, but just then, he wanted to hide away from the universe.

“I think Elizabeth will agree to some down time,” Rodney murmured. “And so you know, you are _never_ going off without me again.”

“It wasn’t intentional!” John protested, finally raising his head to meet Rodney’s eyes.

“You had Lorne thinking he was going to get shipped back to Earth for months because Ronon shot him; the team you were with let you get kidnapped and nearly killed, damn right you aren’t going off-world without me again.”

John could see that this wasn’t a battle he could win—and frankly, it wasn’t one he was sure he _wanted_ to win. “I can live with that,” he said simply, letting his head fall back to Rodney’s shoulder.

“And you will—live with it, I mean.” Rodney pressed a kiss against John’s shoulder at that and rested his cheek against his guide’s hair, content just to hold him and feel his breathing.

“Good,” John replied simply, slowly taking more of his weight back onto his own feet, though he continued to press close to Rodney and hold him tightly.

“Come on,” Rodney said gently after what must have been an hour of the two of them standing there. “Let’s get dried off and curl up in bed, okay?”

John nodded a little shakily and thought the shower off, starting to shiver the moment the hot water stopped.

“Easy, I’m here,” Rodney crooned, thinking the heating up higher in the bathroom even as he grabbed heated towels and gently but briskly dried John’s body and hair, wrapping him in more dry towels as he quickly dried himself as well. Once that was done, he gently led John back into the main room and eased him into bed, tossing their towels back into the bath and joining John, pulling him close and wrapping his arms around him once more.

John’s reaction was to press even closer, seemingly trying to get inside Rodney’s skin as he clung to his husband, his eyes tightly shut. One of his hands curled around Rodney’s upper arm, and though he didn’t realize it, he was clutching Rodney hard enough to bruise.

“It’s all right, you’re home,” Rodney repeated over and over, rubbing one hand over John’s back, willing him to relax but knowing it would be a long time before either of them would sleep.

“I hate this fucking galaxy,” John whispered viciously.

“Right now I do too,” Rodney breathed, trying to keep himself calm and be what John needed at the moment.

“It’ll be better again tomorrow.” John nuzzled Rodney, slowly relaxing. “We should take a jumper out tomorrow and just get away together for a few hours.”

“Whatever you want,” Rodney murmured, kissing John’s hair, then rubbing his cheek against the damp mass.

John’s lips curved into a small but genuine smile against Rodney’s chest. “That won’t last for long.”

“So enjoy it while you have it,” Rodney whispered, kissing him again.

“I intend to,” John assured him, finally stretched over Rodney in his usual loose-limbed sprawl, some of the tension in Rodney’s body leaving as John relaxed against him, though he kept watch in the darkness long after John finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

~*~*~

“I want to go to the beach,” John announced the moment Rodney opened his eyes the next morning.

“Then we’d better go,” Rodney replied easily, though he was examining John minutely for any signs of fatigue or stress from his capture.

“I could get used to this,” John mused, a smile curving his lips before he kissed Rodney.

“I really am okay, you know,” he said softly against Rodney’s lips when they drew apart again.

“You are when I say you are,” Rodney replied stubbornly, and John smiled fondly.

“I do love you, Rodney.”

Rodney’s arms tightened around him, and he hugged John tightly, biting down on his own lower lip as he forced himself to avoid smelling John’s hair.

John frowned, something bothering him though at first he couldn’t put his finger on it. Eventually he realized that he had been subconsciously waiting for the familiar sound of Rodney breathing in his scent, and he hadn’t heard it. His frown deepened, and he pushed to his feet abruptly.

“I need a shower.”

“But we took one last night—“ Rodney began, frowning as he sat up, watching John practically run toward the bathroom.

By the time Rodney joined him, John was scrubbing himself with grim determination, his hair standing up in sudsy spikes. “Let me help,” Rodney said gently, taking the cloth from John’s hand and gently running it over his body.

“I hate this,” John gritted out. “I want to be _me_!”

“You are you,” Rodney whispered. “I know you are.”

“That’s why you try to hold your breath whenever you’re anywhere near me?” John looked and sounded miserable as he asked the question in a tone that tried for—and missed—sarcasm.

Rodney’s eyes widened, and he swallowed harshly. “I—I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” John replied unhappily, “you can’t help it. But I don’t want to smell like a Wraith, don’t want you to flinch away from me.”

“Carson said that there wouldn’t be any lasting effects, I’ll just keep it dialed down until it passes,” Rodney promised, pulling John into a tight hug.

“I don’t want you to have to,” John grumbled, then his eyes widened. “Oh my God, I sound like a whiny teenager!”

“No, you don’t,” Rodney assured him, “and I have you back, that’s all that matters.”

“I really, _really_ want to hurt Sora right now,” John admitted.

“I know that feeling well,” Rodney nodded, being careful to dial down his sense of smell as he took a deep breath.

Looking like a child who’d had his favorite toy taken away, John muttered, “I _like_ the way you usually sniff at me.”

“Once it fades, I’ll sniff you all you want,” Rodney promised, not allowing himself to think of what might happen if the taint to John’s scent _didn’t_ fade.

John’s morose expression suggested he was avoiding thoughts as well. “In the meantime, I’m going to do my damnedest to scrub it away.”

“Well, don’t take your skin off; I would really not prefer you in the flayed look.”

“And here I thought you liked me in any look,” John replied, trying for a teasing tone to lighten the mood.

“Raw flesh? No.”

“Noted. I’ll be sure to skip that one then.”

“Good, I’d appreciate that.”

John chuckled briefly and brought his hands to rest on Rodney’s hips. “So what look do you prefer?”

“The smile you give me when you wake up and everything’s good,” Rodney said quietly as he stroked a hand over John’s chest.

John’s fingers flexed against Rodney’s skin before stilling again. “I can probably manage that for you tomorrow.”

“Only when you feel like it’s really good,” Rodney murmured.

“What could be better than waking up in my own bed, with you?” John replied, moving closer to kiss Rodney.

“Hrmm, good point,” Rodney smiled before his lips brushed against John’s, and they pressed together, their bodies fitting perfectly as always.

They simply stood there for a little while, enjoying being together, until a small movement on John’s part had the water hitting the top of his head and shampoo running down his face. Laughing and sputtering, he drew back slightly.

“I think that’s our cue to return to practicalities.”

“So, feed you, then grab that jumper and take a trip?”

“That sounds about right... once I finish up in here.” John tipped his head back to rinse out the shampoo, hoping that it had helped, which it did once Rodney helped.

It didn’t take them long to dress, notify Elizabeth of their plans, eat and gather some supplies for their excursion, and soon they were on their out of the city. John glanced over at Rodney, a half smile quirking his lips.

“Soooooo... Do you feel sorry enough for me to come over here on my lap?”

“Hrmm, do I feel like crashing into the ocean, or do I feel like seeing you pout...” Rodney smiled slightly as he stood and shifted over to sit on John’s lap.

“I don’t crash jumpers!” John said indignantly even as he wrapped his arms around Rodney’s waist to hold him securely.

“Even when you’re distracted?”

“Especially then. The jumpers do have a kind of autopilot, if that’s that the pilot wants. It’s the advantage of the mental component of flying them.”

“So if I do this,” Rodney leaned in and kissed him, “we won’t splash down?”

John’s response was an appreciative murmur as he deepened the kiss, a single thought setting the jumper into a flight path that followed the curve of the planet.

“We’re not going to end up running into the city, are we?” Rodney asked, his lips moving against John’s as he spoke.

“No, I set the angle of flight to be away from it even if we do happen to completely circumnavigate the planet.”

“Smart man,” Rodney murmured, dialing down his sense of smell and taste to where he couldn’t detect a difference in John and kissed him again, his fingers threading through his guide’s messy hair, disheveling it even more.

“Flying and you, life doesn’t get better,” John murmured against Rodney’s lips.

“ _You_ , my life can’t either,” Rodney agreed, his hold tightening on John for a moment.

John smiled, drawing back slightly to look into Rodney’s eyes. “Aren’t you glad no one else can hear us?”

Rodney opened his mouth to answer, then shrugged. “I wouldn’t care.”

That comment made John beam and kiss him hard. “I really do love you, Rodney.”

“Love you too,” Rodney whispered, his voice catching as he spoke.

John smiled and laid his head on Rodney’s shoulder, closing his eyes and filling his senses with his sentinel, feeling total comfort and peace in that moment.

“This is good,” Rodney murmured after they had sat together in silence for some time.

Raising his head, John met Rodney’s eyes. “This is perfect. And we’re going to have a perfect day just for us before we get back to the Pegasus Galaxy’s usual brand of insanity.”

“Damn right,” Rodney nodded. “I know the mess packed you your favorites.”

“And yours,” John assured him. “No one would dare leave out the blue jello or chocolate pudding.”

“I think they were thinking more about you than me, which is fine,” Rodney corrected gently.

“Well, I’m thinking about you... and don’t want to share all my turkey sandwiches,” John finished teasingly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch your turkey sandwiches,” Rodney promised with a chuckle.

“That’s definitely true love. But you can have _one_.”

Rodney chuckled and stroked his hand over the back of John’s neck. “Definitely true love.”

“I’ll share my turkey with you, but I won’t share you with anyone, so it works out.”

“You’re my husband and my guide, there better not be anyone else!”

“I said _I_ won’t share _you_ , you jealous madman,” John laughed. “Too many people notice you for my liking. They can all get their own genius. You’re all mine.”

Rodney eyed him strangely before nodding, clearly not agreeing with the middle part of his statement. “Of course, John.”

John’s arms tightened around him. “Keep repeating that. I like the sound of it.”

“As often as you want,” Rodney promised, “just not in public.”

“I like private better anyhow. Fewer clothes.” John mock leered at him, and Rodney chuckled.

“Are you shooting for jumper-sex?”

“Of course,” John replied instantly. “Two of my favorite things together? What could be better?”

“Your turkey sandwich?”

John burst into laughter. “It doesn’t really go with sex, Rodney.”

“Well, with you, you never know,” Rodney chuckled before kissing him again.

“I refuse even to think about how someone would combine sex and a sandwich,” John snorted. He shook his head briefly before forgetting the conversation in favor of the much more pleasant pastime of kissing Rodney and working his shirt off.

Rodney snickered as the kiss broke so that John could get his shirt over his head, and he returned the favor, leaving John’s hair disheveled when his shirt hit the floor of the jumper. He looked closely at his guide at that, a primal light entering his eyes, and he tangled his hands in John’s hair before kissing him, once again proving to himself that his guide was alive.

John groaned his approval into the kiss, his hands sliding down Rodney’s bare back to worm beneath the waistband of his pants and cup the solid globes of Rodney’s ass. He arched his back, pressing closer, causing his dogtags to drag over one of Rodney’s nipples.

“We need to get our pants off,” Rodney gasped, dragging the kiss over John’s jaw and to his ear.

“Definitely a genius,” John replied, his head falling to the side to give Rodney access. His hands scrabbled at Rodney’s pants, trying to get them open.

“Need to get out of this chair to do it,” Rodney mumbled against his throat.

“Don’t wanna move,” John grumbled. “Like you where you are.”

“Can’t get our pants off if we stay like this,” Rodney countered as he shifted to climb off John’s lap.

“Well, fine, if you’re going to be logical about it...” John mock pouted even as he made short work of unfastening his pants, then remembered to take his boots off before shimmying out of his clothes without getting up.

“Damn, you look good doing that,” Rodney murmured, leaning back against the console as he undid his own boots and tugged them off.

John smirked, obviously having been going for just that reaction. “You too,” he said, hazel eyes running up and down Rodney’s body.

Rodney’s mobile lips quirked into a smile, and he crawled back into John’s lap. “Damn, I love you,” he whispered before kissing John again.

“Love you too,” John murmured against Rodney’s lips, his hands sliding down over his sentinel’s back, exploring the long planes with gentle fingertips.

“So get in me already.”

“Without lube?” John quirked an eyebrow at him while grabbing for his uniform jacket to retrieve the small tube from the pocket.

“I can dial it down,” Rodney shrugged.

John paused, looking at him searchingly. “You want me to?”

Rodney’s gaze was just as level and intent. “I want to feel you, John. All of you.”

A shudder of pure lust ran through John, and he dropped the lube on the floor. “Then you’ll have me.”

Rodney’s eyes went half-lidded at the sound, his expression turning almost beatific as he gripped the back of the seat behind John’s head. Seeing Rodney’s expression, John let out a low, throaty groan, and his hips arched involuntarily. His pupils were blown as he stared at Rodney and raised his hand, running two fingers over Rodney’s lower lip, the sentinel opening his mouth and drawing them inward, sucking and laving at the warm, salty flesh, his eyes staying locked on John’s.

“So fucking hot,” John rasped, pulling his fingers free and sliding them down between Rodney’s cheeks as he took his husband’s mouth in a possessive kiss. Their tongues slid together, Rodney’s fingers tightening on the back of the seat before he moved, sliding his hands through John’s hair.

“All mine,” he whispered before diving in for another kiss as he felt John’s finger press against his hole.

Unable to speak without breaking the kiss, which nothing could have made him do just then, John simply moaned his agreement and pressed two saliva-slick fingers inside Rodney, the other man groaning into his mouth and pressing back against the fullness. The sound tore a sound of pure lust from John, and suddenly the fingers were gone, and John’s hands were on Rodney’s hips, pulling him down onto John’s cock.

“John—oh god—yes,” Rodney gasped, closing his eyes to enjoy the pleasure-pain, his own erection rubbing against John’s muscled stomach, leaving a trail of precome in its wake.

“So good,” John whispered, his fingers kneading Rodney’s hips as he fought for control when the pleasure threatened to overwhelm him. After a moment, one hand slid up Rodney’s back to tangle in the dark hair and pull his head down for another kiss as John started to rock in and out of him.

Rodney groaned into the kiss, his own hand tightening on his cock as he clenched his body around John’s length, increasing the drag inside of him as they moved together. John moaned in response, the incredible tightness and friction almost more than he could bear, his entire body spasming with the pleasure. He continued to thrust into Rodney, somehow holding on.

“Come for me, John,” Rodney rasped, nipping his way along John’s jaw to rasp the words into his ear. “Do it now.”

John groaned, shuddered, and came as if on command, his fingers tightening on Rodney’s hips enough to bruise. Rodney followed him over a second later, groaning out his pleasure against John’s ear.

“Oh. My. God,” John gasped after several seconds. “That was fucking incredible.” His hands gently stroked the red spots on Rodney’s hips apologetically as they both tried to catch their breath.

“Mmm hmm,” Rodney murmured against his neck. “We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“Anytime you like,” John replied fervently. He turned his head slightly to press a kiss to Rodney’s temple, his lips curved in a satiated smile. “You’re always exactly what I need.”

“And me in a jumper is just icing on the cake, hrmm?”

“You know it.” John’s hands moved over Rodney, lazily petting him as they leaned on each other, only the seat keeping them from ending up a limp, happy puddle on the floor of the jumper.

~*~*~

“Surfing? Now? I thought you were supposed to wait an hour before you went in the water after you ate!”

“That’s an urban legend and you know it. Get your butt over here, McKay.”

“But Jo-ohn...”

“But Ro-odney...” John retorted in perfect imitation. “You’re going to love it, so quit stalling.”

Grumbling under his breath, Rodney stood and brushed the crumbs of his lunch from his lap, looking out at the water then back at John. “Okay, so what do I do?”

“The absolute first thing,” John said, getting to his feet and looping his arms around Rodney’s waist, “you have to do is kiss me.”

“And how does that relate to surfing?” Rodney asked archly though he didn’t move out of John’s arms.

“It keeps your teacher happy.”

“Enough to pass me without taking the course?” Rodney chuckled.

“Nope, I like you unbroken, so you’re going to do it right. And then we’re going to have fun.”

Rodney sighed and rested his head on John’s shoulder for a moment before nodding and stepping back. “Okay, so let’s do this.”

John enjoyed teaching, and it showed as he patiently walked Rodney through the basics until the scientist was ready to try catching his first wave under John’s watchful eye.

“Wish me luck,” Rodney muttered, looking behind himself before realizing that he could hear the incoming small wave better than trying to sight over the other ones. He turned his attention ahead again, shakily getting to his feet as the board caught the wave and began to move.

Watching him, John beamed, seeing Rodney begin to get the feel for it and grow more comfortable on the board. He’d known that the sentinel would master surfing easily if he only let himself relax, and now John was seeing the proof. “Way to go, Rodney!” he yelled.

As Rodney was concentrating on his hearing, the sudden shout made him lose concentration, and he over-balanced, falling into the water with a splash and coming up sputtering.

John bit his lip to hold back laughter, knowing it would be a very bad idea. “You were doing really well,” he got out in a strangled tone.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Rodney growled, shaking his head to get the salt-water out of his eyes.

“Yeah, I am. Now get back up on that board and show me what you can do.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Bossy Pants Guide-Colonel, sir.” Rodney stopped just short of sticking his tongue out, but the desire was clear before he started swimming the board back out to the surf line.

“You can boss me around after we’re done surfing,” John called, laughing.

Rodney grinned crookedly as he sat up on the board, then shook his head. “Nah, I’ll wait and compound the interest,” he laughed.

“I should have known!” John grinned. “Well, I’m here whenever you want me.”

“Loving that enthusiasm!” Rodney laughed before an incoming wave drew his attention, within moments sending the board hurtling forward with Rodney balanced on top of it.

John watched, grinning at Rodney’s clear enjoyment as he grew more comfortable with the activity. The expression on Rodney’s face was going a long way toward helping John relax.

Several hours later, Rodney flopped back on the board and groaned. “Enough!” He managed to lift his head to try to mock glare at John but lacked the energy for even that. “And if you gloat, you aren’t getting laid for a month.”

“That would be punishing you too,” John pointed out, his mouth twitching suspiciously, causing Rodney to exert himself enough to raise a single finger in John’s direction. That was too much for John.

“Told you so!”

“For that you can tow me back in.”

“And then have my wicked way with you?” John asked as he waded into the surf.

“You think I’m going to be able to move after this?” Rodney moaned.

“I could be convinced to take the more active role,” John assured him. “All you have to do is lie back and enjoy... assuming you can actually remain still.”

“Right now that’s _all_ I can do!”

“You mean I’ve finally found the key to wearing you out? Without a life-threatening crisis, that is.”

“Now if I could just do the same for you...”

“Never happen.” John smirked as he caught hold of the surfboard and drew Rodney closer to tow him back to shore.

Rodney lifted his head and splashed water in John’s direction. “I’m married to the freaking Energizer bunny.”

“You’re a lucky man.”

“Well, if you start growing a fuzzy tail, I may rethink that.”

“I think you’re safe. I’m not planning to turn pink either.”

The surfboard grounded out in the shallows, and Rodney rolled off to lie on his back, looking pathetic. Gazing down at him, John snorted.

“Try that on someone who hasn’t seen you whip up a nuclear weapon after three days without sleep.”

“A little pity here, John! I’m sunburned and water-logged!”

John leaned down and licked Rodney’s throat. “You still taste good.”

Rodney hummed at that and caught John, pulling him down on top of himself. “And you feel good.”

“And right now, I think I need to get you into the shade, and we can take a nap.”

Rodney nodded and licked John’s neck, remembering to keep his senses dialed down. “Works for me, and for the record, you taste good too.”

“I always knew you had great taste.”

“That would be why you have that wedding ring on your finger. Now, you going to help me up?”

Laughing, John took hold of Rodney’s hand and drew him upright and into an embrace. “Now don’t you wish you’d tried it sooner?”

“In all our free time?” Rodney snorted before looping his arm around John’s waist as he smiled up at him. “But yes, you have to focus, but it’s relaxing.”

John nodded, a wide smile on his face. “It’s always been my favorite way to de-stress. Well, till I met you.”

“Hrmm, and I can guess what your favorite thing is now,” Rodney chuckled as they walked back to the blanket lying on the sand in the shade of several trees.

“You sayin’ I’m predictable?”

“Do you think I’m complaining?”

They shared a very satisfied smile before settling on the large, soft blanket. The scents of the sea and tropical plants mixed in the air, creating a relaxing aroma. “This is nice,” John murmured as he stretched out on his back, one arm behind his head.

“Mmmhmm,” Rodney murmured, closing his eyes and letting his hand brush against John’s. “We needed this.”

“I needed you,” John replied softly.

Rodney rolled to his side at that and pulled John over to rest against him. “Always do, always will.”

John laid his head on Rodney’s shoulder and draped an arm over him despite the afternoon heat. “Love you,” he said softly, closing his eyes.

“Love you too.” Rodney wrapped his arms around John’s waist, holding him tight, for the moment allowing himself to forget the terror of thinking he had lost him.

~*~*~

“Okay, I love you a lot, but two of you is too much for one universe,” John Sheppard stated, staring down at the man in the observation room, while Rodney and Jeannie McKay-Miller looked equally bemused. John’s eyes darted to the second man in the room, and he looked away immediately, finding it very uncomfortable to look at himself. “I definitely don’t need a copy wandering around either.”

“Is it me or does that version of you look… geeky?” Rodney murmured.

John frowned. “That’s just wrong. But yeah, he does. Sort of.”

“Maybe it’s to balance the leather jacket that Rodney has,” Jeannie laughed, causing her brother to glower at her.

“Oh, very funny. We need to go find out what the hell they’re doing here.”

“And how to send them back!” John added, glancing over at Elizabeth, who nodded.

“I think all three of you should talk to them.”

“Talking to an inferior version of myself, lovely,” Rodney sighed as he, John, and Jeannie headed down to where the other pair waited, the new Rodney spinning and placing himself between them and his John before the door even opened.

John’s eyebrows rose, and he stared at the two men. “Okay, sentinel or not, my Rodney knows I’d kick his ass if he tried that.”

The other John looked bewildered. “That’s what sentinels do. You’re a very strange guide.”

“He’s not a strange guide; you’re a strange guide!” Rodney snapped, glaring at the bespectacled version of his own husband.

“I’d suggest you take that back,” the new Rodney said coolly before Jeannie whistled to get their attention.

“Hey! Guys! Cool it!”

All four men looked at her, the newcomers both looking startled. “Jeannie!” the meeker version of John exclaimed. “You came to Atlantis too in this universe? What about Kaleb and the kids?”

“Kids?” Jeannie asked faintly as Rodney frowned.

“There’s only Madison. and Jeannie is just visiting.”

“No Tyler and Merry?” The leather-clad Rodney looked appalled. “Well, maybe they’re just going to be younger in this universe. Would you like to see them?” he asked Jeannie, pulling out his wallet.

“I probably shouldn’t,” she said hesitantly, and Rodney nodded.

“Exactly, it could influence things here–and just why are you two here?”

“Because your bridge is dumping exotic particles in our universe, you need to shut it off.”

Jeannie immediately hit Rodney in the arm. “You said there was no danger!”

“Hey, no hitting Rodney,” John growled.

“I said there was a _miniscule_ chance!” Rodney protested. “How was I to know it would pick their universe to dump in!”

“Well, it did, and you need to shut it down. Now.”

“Of course we will,” Jeannie snapped. “Now that we know.” She stared at Rodney.

“What?” he protested. “You think that I wouldn’t stop it without you telling me to?”

“Of course you would... but you’re too busy glaring at them. Go push the button, Rodney.”

“We’d appreciate it,” the other Rodney said dryly.

John eyed the man coolly, clearly not impressed by him. “Your universe is obviously very different... and not in a good way.”

“And just what do you mean by that?” the other John asked, his eyes narrowing in a frown behind his glasses.

“Don’t shoot them, Colonel,” Rodney sighed as he headed out of the containment room to go shut down the particle bridge.

“Why not?”

“Because we prefer to use our words, John, not our bullets,” Elizabeth said as she joined them in the wake of Rodney’s departure with Jeannie on his heels.

“Ahh, Elizabeth, I’m glad _someone_ is sane here,” the remaining Rodney chuckled.

Her eyebrows rose as she regarded him. “We’re all rather fond of Col. Sheppard’s brand of insanity. It tends to save all our lives frequently.”

“ _Colonel_?” the bespectacled John squawked, finally taking notice of the title. “You have got to be kidding me!”

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” John drawled, looking his doppelganger over,  obviously unimpressed.

“John has two doctorates,” Rodney commented, his chin lifting and his eyes narrowing as he studied his guide’s twin.

“Oh my God, you don’t fly?” John looked horrified.

“Of course I fly, I’m IFR rated!”

“Uh huh.” John shrugged. “Whatever you say, _Dr._ Sheppard. Right now, I’m going to go see how _my_ sentinel is doing with saving your universe.”

“If you don’t mind, Elizabeth, John and I would like to join the colonel, seeing that it is our universe at stake here.”

“He really doesn’t react well to people looking over his shoulder,” John said.

“Well, he’ll just have to get used to it, won’t he?” Rodney asked.

“Why would you think that? There’s no one in two galaxies who can keep up with him,” John said, keeping the growl out of his voice with effort.

“You really think that your Rod can beat mine and myself together?” the new John asked with a theatric sniff.

“Rod?” John snickered. “I think _Rodney_ can—and has—beaten everyone who’s taken a run at us. And don’t make the mistake of thinking he’s alone. He and Dr. Z are an unbeatable team.”

“Rodney?” Rod chuckled as they walked, “I haven’t gone by that in what, John, thirty years?”

John’s eyes widened as he stared at the sentinel and guide pair. “You’ve known each other for thirty years?”

“Of course,” the other guide informed him, starting to frown. “Our bonding is the youngest ever recorded.”

John looked like he had been punched in the gut.

“What, didn’t you and Rodney do the same?” Rod asked as they entered the lab to see Rodney and Jeannie bent over a console.

“Do what?” Rodney asked without looking up.

John just looked at him, moving to Rodney’s side and taking his hand in a tight grip, though it was debatable whether he was offering or seeking comfort. “They’ve been bonded for a long time, Rodney.”

“And it’s off,” Rodney sighed before turning around and eyeing the others. “How long?”

“Thirty-one years,” Dr. Sheppard said, watching both men carefully.

“Th-thirty-one years,” Rodney said faintly, taking a step back to lean against the console at the same time he tightened his grip on John’s hand.

“How long have you two been together?” the other sentinel asked, frowning at the reaction.

John laughed harshly. “A little over a year. Well, close to two, but we didn’t realize what it was at first. My father lied about having me tested, so I never knew I was a guide.”

The other John flinched. “My father tried that too, but my mom took me to the center. I met Rodney that day.”

Rodney’s mouth worked silently, and Jeannie moved to bracket his other side, offering him her support as well. “You found each other, that’s what matters.”

“He cost us thirty years,” John whispered, and Rodney pulled him into a hug, darting a hard look at their twins.

“We have each other, that’s what counts.”

John nodded slowly. “Yeah, and I kinda like the people we turned out to be, so it’s all good. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to go see my old man and kick his ass though.”

“As long as you save some for me,” Rodney shot back, his eyes narrowing.

“I think this explains why they’re a little nuts,” Dr. Sheppard muttered to Rod.

“A _little_?! As far as I can tell, everyone in this universe is certifiable!”

“And we’re stuck here.”

John’s head whipped around so he could stare at his double once he registered what had been said. “What do you mean you’re stuck here? We already have a Sheppard and McKay, thanks; we’re not accepting applications.”

“Yes, well, we,” the other John began.

“Can’t get back because the bridge is cut off,” Rodney finished for him with a sigh.

John’s gaze shot back to Rodney. “Find a way back for them!” he demanded.

“Can you give me a minute here!”

“Do you want them here any longer than they have to be?

“Not that I mean to sound unwelcoming,” he added, looking at their visitors with patent insincerity, “But I’m sure your Atlantis would like you back too.”

“I’m sure that we’d like the same thing, but it’s not going to happen,” Rod commented, sliding an arm around his John’s back to hug him. “It looks like we’re all stuck with each other.”

“There are days you just shouldn’t get out of bed,” John observed to no one in particular.

“Yes, ones where your universe is nearly destroyed by someone in another one’s sloppy science ranks high up on that list for me,” the other John snapped.

“Sloppy science?” Rodney’s voice rose in pitch, and the skin around his eyes tightened, making John wince even as he glared at his alternate.

“I cannot believe that anything in any universe could make me turn out like you.”

Immediately Rod bristled as he took a step toward John. “And just what do you mean by that?”

Now it was Rodney’s turn to act on instinct, facing off against his double. “That your guide is a wimp!”

“Whoa, okay guys, we need to take this conversation out of the lab,” the alternate John said hastily, his eyes wide as he took in the attitudes of the other three men.

John was the first to relax slightly as he absorbed the comment, and after a moment he laid a hand on Rodney’s shoulder. “Dr. J’s right, Rodney. Let’s table this till we’re done here, and then the four of us can go somewhere private and hash it out.”

“That would be for the best,” Elizabeth cut in as Jeannie frowned at the four of them.

“So let’s get this dealt with and then we can pick up something to eat and go try to figure out how we’re going to deal with this,” John said, letting his arm drop down and slide around Rodney’s waist.

“How about we send them to the mainland,” Rodney muttered under his breath, knowing full well that Rod could hear him and gaining an irate glare from the other sentinel.

“It seems to me that I’m not the one who could benefit from some time with the Athosians,” he grumbled, seemingly to his guide but again loud enough for his opposite to hear.

“Rodney! Behave!” Jeannie snapped, clearly meaning both her brother and his double in the order.

Both Johns gave her a dirty look and moved supportively closer to their sentinels. “Are we about done here?” John asked, wanting to somewhere private for the rest of their conversation.

“For all of our sakes, go and sort this out,” Elizabeth sighed, leaving the quartet to go in search of somewhere to talk.

John didn’t want newcomers in his and Rodney’s room, so he directed the transporter toward an unused section of the city and led the way to an empty room with several benches overlooking a gorgeous view.

“This is one of my favorite spots in our Atlantis,” Dr. Sheppard said, sinking down onto one of the surprisingly comfortable benches with a faint sigh.

As Rod settled beside him, his arm going around his guide’s shoulders, Rodney glared at the couple, refusing to say that it was one of his and John’s as well. When John sat beside him, he reached out, grasping the other man’s hand.

“Look,” John started, “I think we got off on the wrong foot. It’s not that we want to add to your burdens, but this is _our_ Atlantis, our home.” He rubbed the back of Rodney’s hand with his thumb, taking comfort from the touch.

Rod’s full mouth thinned as he pressed his lips together then sighed, his eyebrows pulling together in a confused frown for a moment before smoothing. “You’re right, and it isn’t your,” he looked at Rodney at that, “fault we’re here, but we are, and from the looks of it we’re going to be staying.”

None of the four men looked happy at that conclusion, and each one unconsciously moved closer to his partner. “Maybe,” John said, his expression tight, “and if so we’ll deal with it, but _two_ Rodney McKays working on the problem with Zelenka and Jeannie, not to mention the entire hard science complement of Atlantis and input from Carter and the rest of the SGC, we can find an answer.”

Seeing his alternate’s glare, he added, “I’m not ignoring you, but I really don’t think math is going to be of much use in this instance, Dr. Sheppard—John. Fuck it, we need something to call you,” he growled in frustration. “It’s fine for Rodney and Rod, but two John Sheppards is made of confusion.”

“Oh, so losing my entire universe isn’t enough, now I have to give up my name too?” the other Sheppard snapped, making John growl.

“Home team advantage,” he said in a near snarl.

“Johnny...” Rod began, and Rodney jumped on the low-voiced word.

“There! You’re Johnny and he’s John, all settled.”

“Rod and Johnny, Rodney and John, it sorta balances,” John observed, and Johnny sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, fine, whatever.”

“It’ll work out, we’ll figure it out,” Rod promised him, rubbing the small of his back and pressing their foreheads together.

“I hate it here,” Johnny whispered, his eyes closing as he leaned into Rod. “I miss our friends and our city. It doesn’t even _feel_ right here.”

John looked away, well aware that part of the problem was the city reacting to his own feelings about Johnny and Rod being there.

“We’ll be okay, we’re together, that’s what counts,” Rod promised though he raised his gaze to stare at Rodney and John.

“You okay?” Rodney murmured, stroking John’s back.

“Yeah, I’m good, _we’re_ good,” John replied, leaning into him the same way Johnny was with Rod.

“Yeah, we are,” Rodney nodded, kissing the side of John’s head though his eyes were narrowed as he watched the other couple.

“And we _will_ find a way to fix this,” John muttered into Rodney’s neck, willfully ignoring the way the sentinels were trying to stare each other down.

“Since it seems we’re staying, can Dr. Sheppard and I be assigned quarters?” Rod asked calmly.

John reluctantly straightened away from Rodney and nodded. “Of course. I’ll have Lorne allocate one of the rooms in the visitors’ area to you.”

Johnny frowned but let it slide. It would be soon enough to get them moved when it became obvious that they weren’t going to be able to leave. It wasn’t worth another argument just yet.

“Thank you, we appreciate it,” Rod answered, gently tightening his arm around Johnny.

“We’ll see about getting you some clothes too,” Rodney added.

“We can pretty much guarantee there’ll be something to fit you,” John said wryly, and everyone smiled, albeit reluctantly.

“So,” Rodney said after a moment, “want to go?”

Rod let go of Johnny, though he kept an arm around his guide’s waist, and they both nodded. “It’s been one hell of a day,” Rod said. “I’d love to shower and crawl into bed.”

Rodney nodded almost reluctantly, being very much acquainted with the same feeling. “All right then.” He glanced over toward John. “Colonel?”

John sighed and moved toward the door. “Sheppard to Lorne. Major, please meet me in the guest quarters with some spare uniforms. We need a room assignment and the basics for Drs. Sheppard and McKay.”

~*~*~

“I’m going to shoot myself,” Rodney announced several days later as he entered their room, walked over to the bed and collapsed face down on it.

“No, you aren’t. But I may shoot them,” John grumbled, dropping down to sit on the edge of the bed, his hand coming to rest on Rodney’s leg. “We have _got_ to find a way to send them back. I think I saw Teyla glare at Rod today.”

“I’m sort of surprised,” Rodney admitted.

“Why? He’s really irritating.”

“He’s just... different than I am—less... prickly.” The words were admitted as if they were dragged out of him.

“He’s a know-it-all and smug. Smug is a lot more annoying than prickly.”

Rodney caught John’s hand and tugged to get him to lie down beside him, curling up against him, his face buried in his neck, the moment John was prone on the bed. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“I love you,” John replied simply.

Rodney breathed out a sigh, relaxing as he was surrounded by his guide’s presence. “Love you too.”

“And the others here, _you_ are their friend, not Rod. Keep that in mind.”

“I know.” Rodney’s voice was muffled against John’s neck.

“I’ll just keep reminding you till you believe it too.”

“Believe you believe it,” Rodney muttered, “all that matters.”

“I can live with that,” John replied, holding him close. Every passing day made him more determined to get Rod and Johnny out of Atlantis because he could see Rodney closing down more the longer Rod was in their city. “Any progress on getting rid of our guests?”

“I have an idea,” Rodney said after a short silence.

“Oh, thank god,” John exclaimed. “What is it, what can I do to help, and how soon can we get rid of them?”

“Convince Elizabeth to allow me to possibly deplete the ZPM,” Rodney mumbled.

John shrugged. “If it’ll work, that’s the easy part. We just have to appeal to her better nature; it’s our fault they’re here so we’re responsible for getting them home again. She’ll do it.”

“Damn, I don’t know which is worse—having them here or losing the ZPM.”

“Having them here,” John replied instantly. “We’ll find another ZPM, or you’ll figure out how to recharge or make one.”

Rodney sighed but nodded. “I know, but I hate leaving us defenseless—and that means we won’t be able to use the gate to Earth.”

“Okay, yeah, that sucks, but we’ll put you on it, and I’m sure you’ll figure something out. And then things will be back to normal with only one John Sheppard and Rodney McKay per universe, as it should be.”

Rodney breathed a sigh of relief at that and nuzzled John’s neck. “They both annoy me—how can Johnny annoy me when he’s you? But not you, he’s like a weird, twisted, boring version of you.”

“I’m relieved that you consider weird and boring to be wrong for me,” John said wryly, drawing Rodney closer.

“Colonel, you are the least weird and boring person I know, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my guide and husband,” Rodney assured him.

“You say the sweetest things.” John grinned at him. “You really are my favorite sentinel and husband.”

“I’m your only sentinel and husband,” Rodney grumbled.

“True, but I’d love you best even if you weren’t.”

Rodney made a hrumpfing noise but tightened the arm he had around John’s waist. “That’s because you’re smart too.”

“So between us, we’ll get rid of our unwelcome guests, and then we can get on with the weirdness that passes for everyday life in the Pegasus Galaxy.”

“I’m really ready to welcome that weirdness.”

John nodded. “It’s been especially stressful lately. Think we could take a vacation? Preferably without stumbling across any more shifty sentinel-guide pairs,” he added, remembering their encounter during the abortive training session.

“Maybe I should hold off sending Rod and Johnny back; they can take our place while we go somewhere – maybe back to Earth with Jeannie to visit?”

John laughed. “Nice idea, Rodney, but I’m pretty sure everyone would object. And frankly, I just want ‘em gone. We’ll deal with whatever life throws at us.”

“We could go kick your dad’s ass while we’re there,” Rodney wheedled.

“We can do that the next time we get leave, and we don’t need the Wonder Twins to do it.”

Rodney was silent for a moment before his body began to shake with silent laughter. “Which one of them is the water, and which is the animal?” he snickered.

“Johnny seems bland as water,” John observed.

“Good point and Rod looks like a monkey.”

They both howled with laughter. “Okay, we need to get rid of ‘em before we go completely nuts.”

“So we go talk to Elizabeth?” Rodney suggested. “Then I can get Jeannie and get to work. It’ll… be faster with her.”

“Rodney, as far as I’m concerned, you can use every damn person in the city. And yeah, we should go have that chat with Elizabeth and get started.”

“You know, you could have at least protested that I could do it alone,” Rodney grumbled though it lacked any heat.

“After you get rid of them, I’ll call you Superman to your heart’s content,” John promised.

“Batman,” Rodney countered. “You’re Superman, and we’re so much better than the Wonder Twins it isn’t funny.” He kissed John soundly at that and sat up.

“We should probably leave all of this out of our conversation with Elizabeth,” John suggested, rolling to his feet and stretching.

Rodney watched appreciatively before standing as well, settling his jacket down with a laugh. “It would keep her from thinking we were nuts.”

“Well, I really don’t think anything could accomplish that at this point, but it’s always best not to provide her with proof,” John chuckled.

~*~*~

The glare of the containment field faded away as the ZPM power levels reached zero, and Rodney finally looked up from the control panel. “So?”

“They made it,” Jeannie reported.

“And life returns to normal,” John said with a sigh of relief, pulling Rodney out of his chair and into an exuberant hug. “You did it!” He kissed Rodney, his sentinel hugging him tightly in return before grabbing Jeannie and including her in the embrace.

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Jeannie beamed at him, never having thought she would hear those words from her brother. “We make a pretty good team.”

“This is the only way two McKays are better than one,” John chuckled.

“And even these two McKays only need one Sheppard,” Rodney added.

“That’s because you’re a genius, and I’m perfect for you, sentinel-mine.”

“And what about me?” Jeannie laughed.

“You aren’t kissing my husband!” Rodney squawked.

“No, I’d really rather kiss my own,” Jeannie said dryly.

“We’ll get you home soon,” John assured her. “And we all thank you for all your help, Jeannie.”

“I’m glad I could help, and for everything else as well,” she glanced sidelong at Rodney at that, making him flush.

“We _will_ visit you the next time we get leave on Earth,” John promised her.

“And while you’re there, you can both watch Madison for an evening, she wants to play chess with you again..”

“What?” Rodney gaped, and John elbowed him sharply.

“Of course, Jeannie, we’d be happy too. Wouldn’t we, Rodney?”

“She just wants us to get whipped by that game monger again,” Rodney muttered though he was smiling slightly.

“That’s why we’re her favorite uncles.”

“We’re her only uncles; Kaleb has sisters,” Rodney snorted.

“Then we’re a shoo-win,” John replied, making Jeannie laugh.

“Okay, yeah, you two really are perfect for each other.”

“You doubted this?” Rodney asked as he finally let her go.

“How was I supposed to know that the universe did this _twice_?” Jeannie asked, and John bit his lip and looked away to stop himself from laughing.

“I meant that you should have known _we_ were perfect, not _them_.”

“Huh? Oh. No, I didn’t mean them, I meant you and John. I didn’t think the universe would create two equally insane people.”

“Oh,” Rodney replied, mollified, and Jeannie rolled her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Rodney, I don’t think anyone’s going to be talking about _them_ anytime soon,” John put in.

“Good, good.”

“So, how do I get back?” Jeannie asked, looking around.

“Unfortunately, now that we’ve depleted the ZPM, travel’s restricted to ships again, so you’re going to have to go back on the _Daedalus’_ next run. Sorry you won’t get home as soon as expected,” John said, standing with his arm around Rodney’s waist and offering her an apologetic smile.

“Well, that means the two of you are just going to have to entertain me until it gets here again, aren’t you?”

~*~*~

“I didn’t _mean_ to shoot you, Rodney,” John said plaintively, yet again. “You know I’d never do that on purpose. It was a Wraith mind -control device!”

“But you shot me!” Rodney protested from his bed in the infirmary. “Carson had to do surgery on me!”

“And I’m sorry about that,” John repeated for at least the hundredth time. ”You know it wasn’t intentional.”

“But it hurt.” Rodney’s tone was almost a pout.

“I know, and I _am_ sorry,” John said again, knowing that for a sentinel who hadn’t been expecting the bullet and so hadn’t had a chance to dial down his sense of feeling, it had to have been excruciating. “I’ll take care of you as soon as Carson lets you out of here.”

Rodney reached for John’s hand at that, twining their fingers together. “I’m sorry, I’m whining, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, well, you were shot by your own husband-slash-guide. I think you’re probably entitled.”

Rodney nodded vigorously before wincing. “Damn drugs make it hard to dial it down.”

John leaned forward in his chair, his fingers tightening on Rodney’s. His free hand dug into a pocket, and he popped a mint into his mouth. “Can you concentrate on me?”

“Didn’t need the mint for that,” Rodney pointed out.

“Just making sure. You said the painkillers were making it harder.”

“I can _always_ concentrate on you.”

John beamed at him. “You say the nicest things.”

Rodney stared at him at that. “Now I’m beginning to think that _you’re_ the one on drugs.”

“Well, you do, to me at least.”

“That’s because you deserve them.”

John leaned forward, careful not to jostle Rodney, and kissed him. “I love you, Rodney McKay.”

“And I love you, John Sheppard. Now, are you going to be offended if I fall asleep, because I think I’m about to.”

“Good. And I’ll be right here waiting for you when you wake up.”

“Better be,” Rodney murmured, letting himself drift but not letting go of John’s hand.

~*~*~

Ronon stood in the middle of the quarters he shared with his guide and had absolutely no recollection of how he got there from the gateroom. The last thing he remembered clearly was standing next to Carson and hearing the Lantean captain Helia announce that her crew was taking Atlantis back and the Earth expedition members and all other non-Ancestors had to leave.

“All right, lad,” Carson said gently. “Let’s sit down, shall we?” As he spoke, he rubbed his hand in a gentle circle over the small of Ronon’s back and led him toward the bed.

Ronon followed his guide and sat down, feeling numb. “You’re all going back to Earth,” he said tonelessly.

“So it seems that they are,” Carson nodded.

“Your mother will be—They?” Ronon repeated questioningly.

“This is your home, luv; I’ll not be leaving you.”

Ronon stared at him, afraid to hope. “But... your mother?”

Carson slid his arm fully around Ronon’s back, hugging him. “Ye’ve met her, Ronon. She knows my place is with you, no matter where that is.”

“I couldn’t ask you to give up your world,” Ronon whispered. “I didn’t see how I could leave this galaxy while the Wraith still exist, but I didn’t know how I could survive without you.”

“I’m nae leaving ye. I love ye and where you go, I’ll be there,” Carson promised before gently kissing his sentinel.

Ronon turned to face him and wrapped his arms around the doctor, pulling him close and closing his eyes, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent. Carson stroked his back, feeling the fine tremors run through the other man’s muscles. “Ye’ll nae be alone. We’ll make a home together.”

“Teyla and the Athosians will have to move to another planet with access to a stargate,” Ronon said. “We could go with them,” he suggested. “They’re going to need help.”

“Then we should talk to her, try to help with their evacuation. I’ll have to let Elizabeth know as well and send a message to my mother...”

“You’re sure about this, Carson? You might never get another chance to go back,” Ronon said, hating to ask but needing to be sure that his guide knew the consequences of what he was doing.

“Ronon,” Carson raised his free hand to his sentinel’s face, stroking his bearded chin, “yer my home; wherever ye go, I’ll go; of course I’m sure.”

The dark eyes closed briefly as Ronon drew in a deep, shaky breath, his hand rising to cover Carson’s against his face. “How did I ever find you?” he whispered, opening his eyes again to meet the clear blue gaze.

“Does it matter?” Carson asked softly. “We found each other, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

Ronon finally smiled. “Yes, it is. It’s going to be weird not having Sheppard and McKay around, or the others either. I’ve gotten used to other sentinels and guides.”

Carson nodded at that and rubbed his thumb over Ronon’s chin. “Aye, it’s going to be verra different without them around.”

“And harder to fight the Wraith, but we’ll still find a way to defeat them,” Ronon vowed.

“We can hope that the Ancients will help in that matter,” Carson murmured.

Ronon just grunted, his opinion of the Ancestors greatly lowered over the time he’d spend in Atlantis. “We can do it without them.”

Carson was silent for a moment before nodding. “Aye, it would probably be better that way.”

“And maybe then Sheppard and the others could come back,” Ronon added, though he didn’t sound very hopeful.

“We’ll keep up hope for that.” Carson took a deep breath and straightened up. “All right, we’ve got packing to do, and I need to stockpile medical supplies for us to take with us. We canna rely on them, but they’ll be good to have.”

Ronon regarded him quizzically. “You think they’ll let you take the supplies? I thought your military kept close track of the inventory.”

“Until we officially leave the city, I’m the chief medical officer, and I believe I can requisition supplies for our allies.”

A deep, rumbling chuckle escaped Ronon, and he pulled Carson into a quick hug. “I sometimes forget how sneaky you can be.”

“Cunning.”

“Uh huh.” Ronon looked unconvinced. Letting it go, he offered, “Do you need me to carry stuff?”

“No, luv,” Carson said with a slight smile. “Though I imagine you’d be a huge help for Teyla since her people are going to need to relocate as well.”

~*~*~

Ronon stood next to his guide in the gateroom of the great city of Atlantis for the last time, watching as Teyla said farewell to Sheppard and McKay, holding each one and touching foreheads with them in turn.

“We _will_ meet again,” Teyla said softly. “It could not be otherwise.”

“It shouldn’t be happening now,” Rodney muttered, shooting a death glare at the Alterans.

“No, it should not,” she agreed. “I will miss you both.”

“And we’ll miss you—all of you,” John said, looking over her shoulder at Carson and Ronon. “I don’t know how or when, but we’ll be back. Count on it.”

Ronon nodded, reaching out to clasp John’s forearm. “I am. I’m tired of losing homes.”

That comment had John leveling a glare even darker than Rodney’s on the Alterans, and for a moment it seemed that the lights in the area dimmed.

“Carson,” Rodney began, then surprised everyone including himself by grabbing the other man in a tight hug. “Thank you for everything; I’ll miss you. You--you’re one of my best friends and—“ He broke off at that and let go of Carson to move back to John’s side, grabbing his hand and holding on tightly even as he focused on Ronon.

“I know you won’t let anything happen to him.”

“Rodney,“ Carson began, smiling sadly, “I’ll miss ye too.”

“We’re not giving up,” John said intensely. “You’re part of our family, and _this_ is our home.”

Ronon nodded again as his arm went around Carson’s waist, drawing his guide close. They exchanged a final glance, and then Teyla, Ronon and Carson shouldered their packs and stepped through the gate which shut down behind them. The Athosians were gone from Atlantis, and the Earth expedition members would be the next to go, the Alteran gate technician already dialing Earth.

“This isn’t right,” Rodney muttered, glancing over to where Elizabeth and Radek were standing together, both looking lost.

“No, it isn’t,” John agreed with a scowl, and that time the lights dimmed noticeably before returning to normal, prompting frowns and increased activity among the Alterans.

“You should just think it all off,” Rodney muttered as they let go of each other to reach for their backpacks.

John smirked at him. “Why do you think we’re going to be the last to leave?”

“Because it’s home,” Rodney said, his voice dropping to a near whisper.

“That too, but the minute I step through the gate and come out the other side, everything in here is going to shut down, and they’re going to have a hell of a time getting it back on. The city _likes_ me.”

Rodney grabbed him, pulling him into a tight hug. “God, I love you,” he muttered into John’s ear even as the gate whooshed into life and the remaining staff started to walk through.

“Right back at you.” John gave a final look around the control room of the city that had become their home, refusing to make eye contact with any of the Alterans, his expression full of sorrow and anger and loss. Finally, he faced resolutely forward, Rodney’s hand in his, and they walked to the gate and stepped through together without a backward glance.

~*~*~

Carson looked around the clearing as the Athosians worked briskly to make themselves a new home, unsure as to what he could or should be doing. The medical supplies he’d liberated were piled off to one side of the space, but there was nowhere to put them just yet, so there was no point in beginning to unpack them.

Ronon set down the supplies he’d carried for some elderly women, assisting them to free up their younger relatives to help their own families, and he strode across the bustling clearing to join Carson, who seemed out of his element.

“Do you regret staying?”

“Not in the least, love,” Carson assured him, raising a hand to rest it on Ronon’s arm. “I’m just feeling rather useless at the moment; I think I’d be more in the way than a help if I tried to do anything.”

“I’m not really useful for anything but carrying things myself,” Ronon pointed out. “The Athosians have long practice in picking up and moving their entire society. The closest I came was my years as a runner. Sateda was much closer to Earth than to this.”

“That’s a verra good point, so then, I suppose I’ll go find something to carry and at least feel useful in that respect.”

“I’m sure they’ll grateful for your help.” Ronon gave Carson a quick, reassuring squeeze, and then they waded back into the organized chaos to help wherever they could.

It was hours later and the sun had set, leaving the fledgling village lit only by the light of several fires when they – or Carson at any rate – collapsed to the ground, staring up at the stars that were different from those he’d seen on Atlantis and Earth. It wasn’t long before Ronon noticed his guide and dropped down beside him, sitting with his arms loosely wrapped around his knees.

“This will be very different for you,” he observed quietly, his eyes on Carson rather than the night sky.

“Going to Atlantis was different for me,” Carson murmured, reaching out blindly to rub Ronon’s back. “But I found you there. We’re together, that’s what matters to me.”

“I was lucky to find you,” Ronon whispered. “I’ve never heard of a specialist both surviving the loss of his guardian and finding another, not even in legends.”

“Nor I,” Carson sat up and leaned against the larger man’s side, his hand still moving in slow circles over Ronon’s back, though now it was under his vest, his fingers skimming lightly over the scarred flesh where he had tried to carve out his tracker. “But I’m glad ye did, for both our sakes.”

“Me too.” Ronon tilted his head down to capture Carson’s lips in a gentle kiss. “And now we have to make a new home for ourselves. Sheppard might make it back, but we can’t count on that.”

“No, and the Athosians have lost their home as well; I canna feel sorry for myself when they’re determined to make this a good place.”

“You are part of us now,” Teyla said gently, nearing them in time to hear Carson’s comment. “This is your home as well, my friends.”

Carson looked up at her and smiled. “Thank you, lass; it might take me a time to get used to life here, but I promise I’ll never be a burden to ye.”

“Carson, many of us owe our lives or our children’s lives to you. You could never be a burden if you never did another thing in your life.” Teyla smiled softly. “And you are not one to sit idle.”

“She knows you well,” Ronon murmured, amused.

Carson was glad of the shadows cast by the fires as he felt his face heat at the compliment. “So it seems, though I’ll still be glad when I can go through my supplies and start getting them organized.”

Teyla smiled again. “I did not think you would wish to treat patients in your tent, so each person is contributing something to make a healing tent for you. We will have it set up soon.”

“I dinna mean for you all to–“ Carson paused and swallowed. “Thank ye, Teyla.”

“You will be assisting us; it is only right,” Teyla replied firmly. “And now, we have prepared a communal dinner for this first night. Come, eat.”

The mention of food had Ronon rising to his feet and offering Carson a hand up.

“I suppose one positive thing is that this will get me more fit,” he chuckled wryly as they walked toward the larger grouping.

“You are fit,” Ronon replied instantly, while Teyla looked away to hide a smile.

“And you aren’t biased at all, are ye?” Carson chuckled before they were greeted by the Athosians and drawn into the company of the inhabitants of their new home.

The evening passed companionably, everyone avoiding the topic that was on all their minds, though many sympathetic glances were turned Carson’s way. It was late when the impromptu gathering broke up and everyone retired to their own tents.

Ronon followed Carson into theirs and sank down on the bedroll to remove his boots, his eyes on Carson.

“What is it, luv?” Carson asked, frowning slightly and wishing he could see his sentinel more clearly. “Though if you tell me there’s some horrible bug on my shoulder, I might let out a horribly undignified scream.”

Ronon laughed. “No, no bugs. That only happens to Sheppard. I was just thinking that it seems strange to see you in this setting. You belong in a city like Atlantis or on Earth or Sateda, where you have the tech to help you heal people.”

“I suppose I’ll be going back to my roots,” Carson mused, pulling a knee to his chest and beginning to unlace his boot. “Technology may be a boon, but it’s not all we have to treat people with.”

“I believe you would find a way to help people if you had nothing but your bare hands and the clothes on your back.” Ronon chuckled briefly. “You had little more than that the first time we met.”

“Aye,” Carson smiled, setting his boots aside and twisting to help Ronon undress, setting aside the weapons that he knew were there where Ronon could reach them if needed, “and I certainly didn’t have the most cooperative patient at that time – plus I might have managed to bring a few things along that can help.”

“I never doubted it,” Ronon said, stretching hugely once he was disarmed and undressed. His eyes went to his guide, followed by his hands as he helped Carson shed his garments as well. “We’ll make the best of this, together.”

“I never doubted that for a second.” Saying that, Carson slid a hand behind Ronon’s neck, feeling the heavy, familiar weight of his dreadlocks, and pulled him in for a tender kiss.

Ronon pulled Carson over him, his arms wrapping around his guide as he let all his senses wallow in Carson’s nearness, the sight and feel of him, his scent and flavor, the sounds of pleasure he made.

“What about you?” Carson asked suddenly, pulling back as much as Ronon’s grasp would allow. “Ye keep asking after me and reassuring me, but I’ve nae asked how yer feeling. I’m sorry, luv, forgive me.”

“This is my galaxy, and I’m in a better place than I was when I met you. I’m not a runner anymore, and I’m not alone. I’m fine, as long as you are.”

“You won’t ever be alone again,” Carson promised rashly, “And I’m fine as long as I’m by your side.”

“And that’s right where I want you,” Ronon said quietly. “I love you, Carson, never doubt it.”

“I could never,” Carson said, rolling them back over so that Ronon was on top of him. “Though if you would like to prove your virility this evening, please feel free,”

“Was that a hint, Carson?” Ronon chuckled, rolling his hips against Carson’s. He lowered his head to nuzzle his guide’s throat, his teeth nipping gently.

“More of a suggestion,” Carson hissed, his words said at a volume that only Ronon would be able to hear.

“I like your suggestions,” Ronon purred. He curved a hand over Carson’s ass, his fingertips lightly teasing the crevice between his cheeks.

Carson’s hands weren’t idle either, gliding and cupping at the firm muscles beneath the scarred skin, each scar long since having been learned and homage paid to it. He shuddered and felt the motion echoed in the other man. “So if I say I need you?” he whispered.

“I need you too. I want you,” Ronon rasped, raising his head to stare into Carson’s eyes for a long moment before kissing him. One hand let go of Carson to search blindly for the lubricant he knew was nearby, and after a moment, he dropped it on the blankets next to Carson.

“Ronon, you want me then take me. Don’t hold back because of what you think I’ll think of you. I love you, my stubborn specialist, and there is nothing that you can do to me that will scare me – as a matter of fact it may just make me shake with pleasure.”

Ronon growled, his arousal spiking, and he grabbed for the lube, quickly slicking a finger and pressing it into Carson while he rocked against him.

“Yes! Ronon,” Carson cried out, momentarily forgetting that there were others around in their own tents. He hooked a leg around Ronon’s hip and bucked upward against him, begging for the contact which Ronon was only too happy to give him.

One finger became two, and then they were gone, and Ronon was pressing into him, pulling one of Carson’s legs up around his waist, sinking deeper and deeper inside him.

“Nothing you can do will scare me,” Carson whispered again, knowing that Ronon had to be frustrated at the loss of their home, a place where he was able to effectively fight the Wraith.

“Mine,” Ronon rasped against Carson’s ear, his fingers biting into the solid body beneath as he let go of his control and drove into Carson, again and again, seeking to let sensation stop his thoughts.

“Always,” Carson whispered, arching up to meet each thrust, his body tightening down around Ronon’s cock to increase the drag as he moved. He could feel the press of his sentinel’s fingers into his shoulders and back, feel the pressure of hipbones against his own, and he knew he’d wear bruises in the morning, but he’d wear them with pride knowing this was something only he could do for his partner.

“Carson!” Ronon growled his guide’s name as he thrust deep a final time and came, his entire body locking in a rictus of pleasure.

“I’m here,” Carson promised, riding out Ronon’s climax, his hand stroking over the larger man’s back in a soothing motion even as his own body strained for release. Once Ronon caught his breath, he pushed up enough to get a hand between then and rapidly stroke Carson to climax, his dark eyes intent on his guide’s face.

“Home is with you,” Carson murmured once he was able to speak again, his thudding heartbeat audible even to his own ears.

Ronon smiled and kissed him gently, rolling to his back and drawing Carson over him. “Yes. As long as we’re together, we can face anything.”

~*~*~

“They’re trying to drive me crazy,” Rodney growled when John walked in to the temporary quarters they were sharing until it was determined just what they would be doing for the SGC. “We were _fine_ , _the best_ as a team, why won’t they let us go out on one?”

“If we weren’t a bonded pair, they’d be separating you and me too,” John grumbled. “It’s obvious they’re trying to keep all the Atlantis expedition members apart. I asked to have Lorne, Cadman and Lindstrom, and it was obvious hell would freeze over first. Hell, they won’t even let Lorne be on a team with the girls.”

“It has to be Carter,” Rodney muttered. “We all work well together; why the hell wouldn’t you want to keep that going?”

“They’re making noises about helping us reacclimatize to Earth,” John snorted. “This blows!”

“You can say that again; I hear mutters that they were thinking of sending me to Area 51 – not us, _me_! As if that would ever happen!”

John snarled at the mere thought. “I’ll resign my commission before I let them separate us!”

“And then we’ll go to Canada. Jeannie will let us stay with her while I set something up with the government there.”

Smiling finally, John pulled Rodney into his arms. “Good thing we’re not going to have to resort to that. But we would if we had to.”

“They’d have a fit if they thought of losing either of us,” Rodney muttered, burying his face against John’s neck and breathing in deeply, grounding himself in his guide’s scent.

“Not nearly as much of one as I would have if I thought I was going to lose you,” John retorted, his arms tightening around Rodney. “Though I may also have one if they don’t let us through the gate soon.”

“John, you know I love you, but your fit would have nothing on mine if that was the fact.”

John had to laugh. “We’re about due for a patented McKay rant around here, aren’t we?”

Rodney pulled back and his lips curved into a half-smile. “A lot of people here have no clue what that is.”

“Then they need to be educated,” John said, smirking. “I could sell tickets. And you know how much I love dragging you off afterward.”

“Now that’s not fair,” Rodney chuckled, “you’re going to make me look for reasons to tear them apart.”

“And this would be different from normal how?”

“It’s not as much fun here.”

John sighed, the momentary humor vanishing as rapidly as it had appeared. “I know. Nothing’s the same here. This isn’t home anymore.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up,” Rodney sighed. “Did you hear from Elizabeth? I haven’t heard anything from Radek today.”

“No, not for a few days. I think she’s avoiding our calls. But at least you managed to block the attempt to send Radek back to the Czech Republic. If he was gone too, I’d really be worried about her. More worried,” John amended.

“I guess the McKay reputation is good for something,” Rodney murmured. “maybe we can all get together, dinner or something.”

“That’s a great idea. You tell Radek, and that way Elizabeth won’t be able to get out of it. We’ll make it tomorrow night.”

“At least it’ll be something interesting.”

“Yes, you and Radek can finish each other’s sentences while Elizabeth and I wonder if we should be jealous.”

Rodney pulled back at that, his nose wrinkling as his face screwed up. “John! That’s disgusting!!!”

John burst into laughter. “You’re so easy.”

A fisted hand thumped into his chest at that. “You are such an ass!”

“But I’m your ass.”

“Keep that up and I’m going to _be_ in your ass,” Rodney retorted.

“Promises, promises.”

With a low growl, Rodney spun John toward their bed and proceeded to prove that in this case, a promise was reality. When they were both tangled in a sweaty, contented heap, John chuckled softly. “This isn’t a bad way to spend an evening, but if we keep it up, we’re not going to be able to walk.”

“It isn’t as if we’ve got anywhere else to go,” Rodney shrugged, breathing in deeply, his eyes going unfocused at their combined scents.

John glanced up sharply and nipped at Rodney’s shoulder, drawing him back from his senses. “Good point. And I’m happy to do my part.”

“Hey! I was enjoying that,” Rodney grumbled.

“Enjoy with a little focus,” John replied unrepentantly. “No zoning out allowed.”

“I haven’t zoned out in months!”

“And I’m just making sure it stays that way. I like all of your attention right here, on me, where it belongs.”

Rodney snorted at that and nipped at John’s swollen lower lip. “I think the come leaking out of your ass would prove that fact.”

“You can never have too much of a good thing.”

“Damn right, but your good thing needs to get some sleep so he can throw a fit tomorrow,” Rodney smirked.

“Mmm, I’ll make sure to keep lube in my pocket for afterward.”

“Pervert.”

“Ha. Admit it, you used to throw fits sometimes just because you knew I’d see you.”

Rodney looked away and his cheeks flushed. “Your heart rate goes up twenty-two percent when I’m haranguing someone.”

“Aha! I knew it! Damn it, I would have won the pool!”

“What???” Rodney shrieked. “You bet on this?”

John grinned. “Most of Atlantis was in on it.”

“I hate you.”

Laughing, John kissed him. “No, you don’t. You love me.”

“You bet on me, I hate you,” Rodney muttered, rolling off John and on to his back, his expression petulant and his arms crossed over his chest.

“I bet on the fact that you knew my reactions and were playing to them,” John corrected, following Rodney and dropping his head on the sentinel’s shoulder.

“Still...” Rodney muttered even though his arm curved around John’s waist.

“You would have enjoyed half the proceeds and you know it,” John replied, settling more comfortably against him.

“If you ever got the guts up to tell me!”

“Are you calling me chicken?”

“If the feather fits!”

“Ha! You’re the one abusing innocent minions to get my attention instead of just telling me you want it!” John retorted.

“They are _never_ innocent,” Rodney huffed.

“Uh huh. Did I mention that I also love watching you crawl under consoles?”

“The puddles of drool on the floor gave that fixation away.”

“I do not drool.”

Rodney only smirked.

“I hate you.”

“No, you hate being here and so do I,” Rodney sighed just before the gate claxon went off and the announcement that SG-1 was returning was broadcast over the intercom. “And wonderful, Carter is back, shoot me now.”

John growled at the mention of the other guide and settled himself more comfortably against his sentinel. “Well, she and the rest of her team can manage without us till morning. We’re off duty, and we’re going to sleep.”

“Together.”

“Of course together. That’s the best part of being bonded _and_ married. And we’re comfortably settled in bed, so go to sleep.”

Rodney sighed then chuckled and kissed John’s temple. “Yes, dear, and remind me to call Elizabeth in the morning.”

“I thought you were going to tell Radek and leave it to him to get her there?”

“True, but I can enforce that,” Rodney mumbled. “Now shh, I’m trying to sleep.”

~*~*~

John stood up from the table and moved around to give Elizabeth a quick hug. “Next time don’t make it so hard to see you.”

She smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cut myself off. It’s just been so hard adapting to being back... here.”

“It’s easier if you let your friends help you.”

“Other than Radek,” Rodney added, making the Czech scientist glower at him even as he flushed.

“Blunt, but correct,” John said, holding Elizabeth’s shoulders. “And we’re not going to let you keep pushing us away, so be warned.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek before seating herself at the table. “I promise I’ll be good, Dad.”

“If you call me Mom, I will find a way to hurt you,” Rodney warned both Radek and John, making both men snicker.

“My mother was much nicer than you,” Radek assured him, causing Rodney to glower at him even as he took his own seat.

“We really just needed to have dinner with Elizabeth,” he sighed.

“And I needed to have Radek with me,” Elizabeth replied, choosing to play rather than play peacemaker for a change.

John chuckled. “She’s got you there, Rodney.”

“I thought you were on my side,” Rodney pouted.

“I am, but that doesn’t make me blindly stupid, or you’d get bored with me,” John retorted, making Radek snicker and Rodney grumble under his breath, at least until the waiter approached their table and he ordered wine, the four of them working their way through the bottle and their meal as they chatted.

The meal passed pleasantly, all of them enjoying this brief return of the camaraderie they’d shared on Atlantis, and they were just beginning to discuss whether to go somewhere for drinks or back to one of their homes when all four of their cell phones rang at almost the same instant.

Within moments, they’d paid for their meal and were on their way to the mountain, where they went straight into a meeting with Gen. Landry. They were shocked by the news that Asurans had attacked and taken Atlantis, along with Gen. O’Neill and Mr. Woolsey, but these were people used to adapting to disaster at a moment’s notice.

“What’s the plan to retake Atlantis?” John asked, knowing that Rodney and Radek were already developing weapons in their heads.

“There isn’t one,” General Landry said flatly. “What we need you all for is to determine the most effective way of destroying the city.”

“What?” Rodney exclaimed.

After the Atlanteans exchanges appalled looks, Elizabeth focused on the general with an expression of horror. “You want to destroy the city?”

“It’s the gateway to Earth,” Landry replied flatly.

“What happened to protecting it and our people there?” Rodney demanded.

“I’m sorry,” Landry said, sounding sincere. “I have standing orders. They happen to be _Gen. O’Neill’s_ standing orders. The _Daedalus_ will be there in a little under four days. Now, how do I get a nuke past their shield?”

The Atlanteans managed to convince the general that they would assist with his plan, and after a short meeting, they adjourned to Rodney’s office on base to discuss their real plan.

John turned to Rodney. “You can rewrite the code to use the gate bridge to take us somewhere in Pegasus other than Atlantis as a final destination, right?”

“In my sleep,” Rodney snorted, “we’ll just need that jumper they have here to use it.”

“But the only person with access to it is Dr. Lee,” Radek grumbled. “They don’t trust us together or with Ancient technology.

“Not the three of us maybe, but Elizabeth...” Rodney suggested, looking over at her, which made Radek glare at him and move protectively closer to Elizabeth.

“Not me either,” she said, shaking her head. “The SGC is shutting all of us who were on Atlantis out of everything. And Dr. Lee follows the rules.”

“So we’ll need to distract him and steal it,” John decided.

“And how are we supposed to do _that_?” Rodney asked.

“Find out what he likes,” Radek suggested thoughtfully.

“That computer game he goes on about,” John said, having been trapped into more than one conversation with Dr. Lee. “All he’s interested in is science, women, and that game.”

All three men turned to look at Elizabeth, who groaned. “Everyone knows I’m involved with Radek,” she pointed out.

“We’re not suggesting you _sleep_ with him, Elizabeth,” John said. “Just... flirt a little.”

“That is bad enough!” Radek said, outraged.

“It’s just flirting,” Rodney protested. “If Lee was gay and John wasn’t my guide and married to me, I bet he’d do it!”

“That’s because John flirts the way he breathes,” Elizabeth pointed out dryly, gaining a mock hurt look from the colonel.

“ _Et tu_ , Elizabeth?”

“You don’t even realize you’re doing it,” she replied with amusement. “But since I really doubt you’re Dr. Lee’s type, I’ll distract him for a few minutes... but make it fast. What I know about gaming would fit on the head of a pin!”

“How about we find a quick tutorial, then you go knock his socks off—Radek and I can take it from there; John can make sure we have what we need to go; and then we’ll go do what we do—save our city,” Rodney announced.

~*~*~

For once the plan worked exactly as expected, and the four Atlanteans took possession of the jumper and activated Rodney’s gate bridge to return to Pegasus, ignoring Gen. Landry’s furious orders first to stop and then to return.

“I really hope Gen. O’Neill’s appreciative of the rescue,” John sighed, “or we may never be able to lower the shield again once we take the city back.”

“Gee, held hostage by crazy replicators or at home, I know what my choice would be,” Rodney snorted as they emerged at the mid-way point, all breathing a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, well, you’re not a general,” John pointed out. “They tend to take a dim view of their orders being disobeyed.”

Elizabeth had to press her lips together at that. “This _is_ Jack O’Neill you’re talking about,” she pointed out.

“Just because he ignores them doesn’t necessarily mean he wants _his_ ignored,” John retorted before sighing. “But yeah, we have a better chance with him than anyone else. And it’s not as if there was a chance in hell of us following those orders anyhow. I’ll be damned if I’m going to destroy our city without trying to get it back first.”

The others voiced their agreement as Rodney and Radek reprogrammed the gate to take them to the Athosians’ new home world instead of Atlantis. “Okay, we’re ready to go,” Rodney said once he had checked the addresses a final time.

“So let’s go find our teammates,” John said, reaching over to squeeze Rodney’s hand. They exchanged a smile, and then the jumper continued its journey, finally arriving on New Athos several minutes later.

~*~*~

“I really hope they don’t shoot us thinking we’re the enemy,” Rodney sighed as the four of them walked from where John had landed the jumper to the Athosians’ campsite. “And that they have something to eat.”

“I’m sure they haven’t forgotten the sound of your voice yet,” John assured him.

“As if that was possible,” Ronon commented as he emerged from the shadows, Carson at his side, the physician beaming as he hugged each of them.

“I dinna understand; what are ye doing here?” he finally asked as he and Ronon led them back to the camp.

“The Asurans attacked Atlantis,” John explained. “The SGC wants to destroy the city, but we decided we’d rather take it back.”

“When do we leave?” Ronon asked immediately.

“Not until we’ve heard out the situation,” Carson countered, resting his hand on Ronon’s arm. “I’m sure Teyla will want to hear the details as well.”

“Of course,” John agreed. “It’s not every day six people decide to take over a city,” he admitted wryly.

“Seven,” Rodney said as they entered the camp and Teyla spotted them, beaming as she walked over to them. “Or do you think she won’t come with us?”

John’s eyes widened. “I never thought that for a second,” he said hastily in case Teyla heard. “I just wasn’t thinking.”

“We know,” Rodney said soothingly, rubbing a hand over John’s back as Teyla welcomed them, greeting each by pressing her forehead against theirs, then leading them back into the camp where the other Athosians greeted them warmly.

“You have returned to retake the city?” Teyla asked once the greetings were over and they had been left alone again.

“That’s the plan,” John agreed with a nod. “There’s the small problem of an Asuran invasion to deal with though.”

“Well, thanks to the Alterans, we have ZPMs, so if I can get to them, that’s a start,” Rodney offered.

“And we have ta save Gen. O’Neill and Mr. Woolsey,” Carson pointed out.

“Can’t we just save O’Neill and let them keep Woolsey?” Ronon suggested, making John turn away to hide his amusement and Carson poke his sentinel in the side.

“No.”

“Too bad,” Rodney muttered, and no one disagreed with him.

“How are we going to deal with the Asurans?” Elizabeth asked, redirecting the conversation.

“We need to retrieve Niam, and I can use his base code to deactivate the others,” Rodney offered.

“Proliferate a virus through him?” Radek asked, already nodding. “Yes, that could work.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, John had to grin, already imagining Rodney’s reaction to that “could”.

“Will,” Rodney responded stubbornly, glaring at Radek—at least until Carson chuckled.

“Some things never change, do they?”

“That’s my Rodney, a universal constant,” John said fondly.

“You all should be glad of it,” Rodney sniffed.

“I always am,” John assured him while both Radek and Ronon snorted.

“We’re always grateful for your assistance, Rodney,” Elizabeth put in diplomatically which seemed to mollify Rodney enough that the group could continue their planning before retiring for a few hours sleep and rising early to prepare to take their city back.

~*~*~

As usual, things went pear-shaped soon after their plan was put into motion, but despite reanimated replicators, flooded landing bays, capture, mind probes and nearly being blown up by their own forces, in the end Atlantis was returned to the control of the people who had reclaimed her, and the command staff of Atlantis was left exhausted and battered but back home where they belonged.

“Exciting around here,” Jack O’Neill observed laconically, making John snort.

“Remind you of your days on SG-1, sir?”

The general grinned. “Careful, Sheppard. You remind me a lot of myself, and look where I ended up.”

“Bite your tongue!” Rodney snapped, glaring at O’Neill. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

“No one would want that, sir. Rodney would end up ruling the planet,” John pointed out with a grin.

“And what would be wrong with that? I’d end all wars,” Rodney sniffed while the others gave up fighting their laughter.

“I refuse to be your queen,” John informed him.

“Consort?” Rodney suggested, and Elizabeth sighed.

“I think keeping you both in Atlantis would be far safer for everyone involved.”

John laughed. “I like it better here anyway. And no, we’re not crowning ourselves kings of Atlantis.”

“Thank God,” Radek muttered.

“I’m relieved to hear you’re not planning a coup to overthrow me,” Elizabeth said dryly, and John grinned.

“Yet.”

“More paperwork,” she reminded him.

“That’s what I have Lorne for,” John replied with unimpaired cheerfulness, and Elizabeth laughed at him.

“Do you really want to take on Cadman and Lindstrom?”

He shuddered, and Rodney patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll protect you from the evil women, Colonel,” he promised.

“I’m going to hold you to that!” John informed him to general laughter.

“Why does that not surprise me?”

“Because he knows you well,” Radek muttered under his breath.

John grinned. “I always expect my sentinel to protect me,” he informed Rodney before glancing at the general. “We’ll need to get our personnel reassigned back to Atlantis.”

“And with three ZPMs here,” Rodney said, his gaze sharpening, “we can send you back to get the paperwork moving.”

“You do realize that I’m going to have to take one back to Earth to power the Antarctic outpost, right?” Jack said, making John wince in anticipation of Rodney’s reaction, and the scientist proved his reaction right as he glared at Jack.

“And we saved you _why_?” he growled.

“Because I’m on your side, and if I wasn’t around, you’d end up with Landry in charge.”

“No!” Rodney shuddered at the thought before sighing. “Fine, you can take the ZPM back.”

“Thank you for your gracious permission,” Jack said dryly.

“He’s good like that,” John said cheerfully, while Radek snickered in the background.

It was good to be home.


End file.
